There were 48 dreaming of the title; but now there are only 16 who are in with a chance. After three days of competition at the Tatoi Club in Athens, and just as many workshops aimed at preparing these future champions for professional life, the quarter-final line-up for the IMG Future Stars, an international competition for under 12s, was confirmed on Thursday.
Following his emphatic 6-0, 6-0 victory over Austria’s Luca Sageder, China’s Li Yanrou, one of the competition favourites, will meet France’s Arthur Poussin, who earlier this year earned his first cap for the French national team at the European Nations Cup. The winner of this duel will face the winner of the match between Waelti Jonas (Switzerland), who defeated Arthur Poussin in the final of the 10-12 Open in January, and Camelot Carnello (USA) on Saturday, in what promises to be a tight semi-final.
On the girls’ side, the very promising Estonian Elizaveta Anikina, recent winner of the Open des 10-12 and the Auray Super 12, won 6-3, 6-2 in her second match against the French No 1 in her category, Neirouz Godhbane. She will face American Li Christina in the quarter-finals.
For the players who did not manage to finish top of their group, a consolation round will be held to allow them to play at least a third match at this international event on outdoor clay.
WORKSHOPS WITH MOURATOGLOU, JAMES, THE ATP, THE WTA…
As well as the competition, the players, coaches and parents were able to take part in a number of workshops over the first three days. After a presentation by coach Patrick Mouratoglou and analyst Mike James on the first day, a number of specialists took the floor.
They included Kathy Martin, mental health advisor at the WTA and Erika Kegler, director of player development at the ATP, as well as Thomas Hammerl, director of the Tennis Europe Association, and sports psychology professor Chris Harwood.
The 48 young players in the line-up were invited by the IMG sports events company, which created the event in 2022.