We are already halfway through the 2025 Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals. The trophies were handed out last week to the U16 and U12 divisions, while this week the U18s and U14s have their eyes on the prize.
Let’s look back at last week’s results in Verdun and Calgary and then have a glimpse ahead at what to expect this week in Toronto and Vancouver.
U16
There were some surprises in Verdun, QC, as only one top seed was victorious in the four draws at the U16 Fischer Indoors Junior Nationals.
That lone top-seed win came in the girls doubles, where Laurence Demers and Lily Rochon claimed the title. The final was an epic, with Demers and Rochon narrowly squeaking out the match tiebreak 15-13 against second seeds Amy Lu and Amy Shen. Demers and Rochon also survived a tight semifinal against Mirka Delaney and Émy Gauvin which they won 12-10 in the match tiebreak.
Photos: André Noël
Rochon also reached the girls singles final as the second seed, but she was beaten 6-1, 6-2 by Isabelle Ruyu Yan, who was seeded outside the top eight. Yan had defeated Demers, the top seed, in three sets in the semifinals.
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On the boys side, the No. 2 seeds won both the singles and doubles titles.
Antoine Généreux defeated top seed Joshua Adamson in three sets 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-1 to claim the singles title. The Quebecois had to rally from a set down in both the semis and final.
Photos: André Noël
Généreux had a chance to double up in Verdun as he and Adamson were the top-seeded doubles team and reached the final, but they were beaten by the second seeds Aedan Malik and Brayden William Woo in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.
U12
Aidan Xue was the biggest winner at the U12 Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals in Calgary, taking home both the boys singles and doubles titles.
In singles, Xue won all nine of his matches across all three phases of the event, losing just one set overall. He easily finished atop group three in phase one, losing his only set of the tournament in the group stage. He then cruised through phase two, the qualifying stage, before winning his last three matches in phase three, the final knockout stage, losing just seven total games in the phase. He beat top seed Daniel Marinov 6-1, 6-2 for the title.
Photo: Kyle Clapham
Xue teamed up with Zalic Tremblay to win the doubles.
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Callie Raharinosy had to work a bit harder to claim the girls singles title, needing a third set on a couple of occasions, but she managed to stay perfect to lift the trophy. She defeated Emma Antonia Dobrean 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
Dobrean did not leave Calgary empty-handed, winning the doubles title with Vera Wing.
U18s and U14s Underway
The second batch of Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals are already underway with the U18s competing at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto and the U14s at the UBC Tennis Centre in Vancouver.
Miko Lapalme of Quebec and Anna Tabunshchyk of Ontario are the top seeds in the boys and girls singles draws at the U18s. The Ontario-Quebec pair of Benjamin Azar and Volodymyr Gurenko are the top seed boys doubles team, while Charlize Celebrini of British Columbia and Lily Rochon of Ontario, who is coming off her win last week at the U16s, are the girls doubles top seeds.
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All draws at the U18s are standard knockouts. The U18 event will be livestreamed online, CLICK HERE to watch the matches.
The U14 event in BC follows a different format, starting with a group stage where players will look to qualify for the knockout rounds.
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There are eight groups of four or five players for both boys and girls. Results from the group stage will determine which “flight” players advance to for the subsequent rounds.
Deniz Karabulut of Ontario is the top seed in both singles and doubles with Alden S.K. Yu of British Columbia on the boy’s side. Ontario’s Tessa Sari Puente is the girls singles top seed, with the Quebec pair of Elisabeth Djabourian and Camille Michel as the top-seeded doubles pair.
Feature photo courtesy: Kyle Clapham
