Under 16, Under 12 Fischer Outdoor National Championships Preview

Junior Nationals month is set to continue this week with the 2024 Under 16 and Under 12 Fischer Outdoor National Championships about to begin.

Let’s take a look at the top contenders in each of the tournaments.

Under 16 Outdoor National Championships

The Under 16 tournament will have a qualification draw followed by a 64-player elimination main draw with six rounds. There will also be a 32-team doubles draw.

Miko Lapalme, the defending U16 National Indoor singles champion, will be one of the top seeds at this tournament and is considered a favourite in the boys’ draw. In addition to his U16 singles title, Lapalme won the doubles title at the U18 Outdoor Championships last week and the doubles title at the U16 Indoors in March, sweeping the boys’ tournaments at the event alongside partner Quincy Qianzhou Yao.

Yao, who Lapalme toppled in the final to win the singles title at the U16 Indoors, is also in the field and is expected to make a strong run in the tournament. Dani Szabo, the Ontario U18 Provincial Champion, is in the main draw as he looks to build off a quarter-final appearance at the U18 Outdoor Nationals last week. 

A pair of recent international representatives will be in the field at The Granite Club in Toronto, Ont. Callum MacKinnon, who had a strong showing at the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals last week, is already in the main draw, while teammate Julian Mahdavi will begin his quest in the qualification bracket.

The girls’ draw will be headlined by a pair of strong finishers from the U18 Outdoor Nationals. Brooke Feth, who has finished as the runner-up in her past two National Junior Tournaments (U18 Outdoor singles, U16 Indoor singles), looks to break through for her first national title. 

British Columbia’s Amy Lu will attempt to build off her excellent 2024 season. She is coming off a doubles title at the U18’s last week and has also won doubles titles at both the U16 Outdoor and U18 Indoor Provincial Championships. 

Charlize Gabrielle Celebrini will also be in the main draw when matches start later this week. Along with partner Andrea Cabio of Milton, Ont., the B.C. native won the doubles title at the U16 Indoor Nationals. She is also the younger sister of Macklin Celebrini, who was selected first overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2024 NHL Draft. 

Qualification matches began on Aug. 14.

Read Also: Arseneault, Nicholson win singles titles at Under 18 Fischer Outdoor National Championship.

Under 12

The Under 16 and Under 12 Outdoor National Championships will have a different tournament format. Both singles draws at the Under 12 event are not the typical single elimination, but a compass format. Rather than a normal knockout event, it starts with a round-robin, with the top players from the group stage advancing to a knockout stage.

The boys draw will have eight groups with a total of 38 entries, while the girls’ draw will also have eight groups with a total of 37 entries. 

The 2024 U12 boys’ National Indoor singles and doubles champion, Liam Suh, is in the field and remains a favourite at the tournament. 

On the girls’ side, 2024 Indoor doubles champion Joni Colbourne is in the field, looking to win her first singles National title. 

Matches will begin on Aug. 16.

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