Tennis Canada officially announced on Wednesday the team rosters that will represent Canada at the 2025 ITF World Junior Tennis competitions—a major event hosted at Montréal’s IGA Stadium that brings together the best U14 and U16 players from North and Central America and the Caribbean. Joining Canada are the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Puerto Rico, with the top two teams earning a spot in the Finals.
The competition is returning to home soil for the first time since 2019, when Marina Stakusic**, Victoria Mboko** and Kayla Cross** were led by captain Heidi El Tabakh. Today, all three women are competing at the highest level and will battle for Canada in the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Qualifiers next weekend in Tokyo, Japan.
“Representing Canada as juniors is an invaluable experience for these young players,” said Sharon Fichman, captain of the Billie Jean King Cup Junior team and former member of the Canadian BJKC team. “This type of competition builds their team spirit, their ability to handle pressure, and their capacity to challenge themselves. Hosting the competition in Montréal is a source of pride and a wonderful opportunity for our athletes to shine at home.”
“These team competitions are a key step in our young players’ development. They enable them to not only gain experience on the international stage but also compete against the best of their generation in a unique setting while learning the demands of team competition,” explained Guillaume Marx, Vice-President of High Performance at Tennis Canada. “Many of the players who made their debut here have gone on to professional careers, and we hope this new generation will follow in their footsteps and join tennis’ global elite.”
More on Team Canada
At the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors, Fichman will lead the team made up of 16-year-old Charlize Celebrini** (British Columbia), 15-year-old Elicia Xinyu Lin (Alberta) and 15-year-old Laurence Demers (Québec).
Lin comes into the competition brimming with confidence on the heels of her big win at the U18 Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals. Since the start of the season, Celebrini has reached the quarterfinals of two ITF J100 tournaments, and Demers has been on an impressive run since late 2024, winning three of her last four ITF tournaments (two J30 titles and one J60).
On the Davis Cup Juniors team are 15-year-old Joshua Adamson (Ontario), 15-year-old Caden Colburne** (Nova Scotia) and 16-year-old Antoine Généreux** (Québec) led by captain Hugo Di Feo. Généreux just won the U16 boys’ singles event at the Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals, and Colburne made history when he became the first player from Nova Scotia to be selected for the international competition. In February, Adamson took home back-to-back ITF J60 titles in Guatemala.
In the girls’ U14 category, 14-year-old Amy Shen* (British Columbia), 13-year-old Tessa Sari Puente* (Ontario) and 13-year-old Isabella Ruyu Yan* (Saskatchewan) will be led by captain Lan Yao-Gallop. In her first year on the ITF junior circuit, Shen has already competed in one quarterfinal, two semifinals and one final. Puente dominated the recent U14 Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals, winning the event without losing more than five games in a match. As for Yan, she raised the U16 championship trophy at the recent Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals.
Finally, 14-year-old Deniz Karabulut* (Ontario), 15-year-old Alden S.K. Yu* (British Columbia) and 14-year-old Ilya Sherifali* (Ontario) under the guidance of captain Roberto Brogin will be playing for Canada in the boys’ U14 competition. At the recent U14 Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals, Yu took top honours in singles and doubles with Karabulut, and Sherafali was a finalist in singles and doubles.
One team to watch in the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors competition is Team USA. With three players in the Top 20 — twins Kristina and Annika Penickova, ranked No. 3 and No. 16 in the ITF rankings, respectively, and 16-year-old Julieta Pareja (ITF No.19) — the squad promises to be a tough opponent. In the U14 boys’ tournament, Tristan Ascenzo is the US No.1. Earlier this year, he fought his way into the final of the prestigious Les Petits As tournament.
For more information on the ITF World Junior Tennis competitions, click here.
*Member of the U15 Canadian Prospect Team.
**Member or former member of the National Tennis Centre presented by Rogers.
Feature photo: André Noel
