US Open 2024: 15-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic becomes first Brit in 15 years to win US Open junior title
15-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic has made history by becoming the first British tennis player in 15 years to win the US Open junior title.
The up-and-coming player continued her strong play from the semi-finals against 16-year-old Iva Jovic, who made it to the second round of the women's main draw. She followed up with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Japanese junior world No.10 Wakana Sonobe.
The star born in Hammersmith was in control of her serve during the final match, winning 91% of points with her first serve. She went on to win the biggest title of her career in just 85 minutes.
She is now the youngest player to win the girls' title at Flushing Meadows since Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 2006, making her the first British girl since Heather Watson in 2009 to achieve this victory.
"I'm still feeling a bit surprised and haven't really had a chance to fully think about it yet," Stojsavljevic expressed after winning her first Grand Slam junior title.
I believe it was an excellent game. Sonobe performed exceptionally, and we both elevated our play in the second set. It was a surprising turn of events, but I am extremely pleased with the outcome.
"I began by focusing on being more regular at the beginning. Of course, in a competition, you aim to ease into it somewhat. I believe I was consistently achieving good depth. The windy conditions may have had an impact on how things turned out."
Mika Stojsavljevic's journey to winning the US Open junior tournament:
Even though she is still new to the sport of tennis, Stojsavljevic has already shown that she can perform well in important matches on the world's largest tennis courts. She has been training at the LTA National Academy in Loughborough for the past few years.
In addition to winning her first Grand Slam championship, the 15-year-old also made it to the girls' doubles final at Wimbledon this year with her fellow countrywoman Mimi Xu. She has also achieved reaching the singles quarter-finals at SW19 in the past.
After coming back home with a Grand Slam victory, Stojsavljevic is getting ready to go back to school and resume her regular routine.
I plan to return to school next Tuesday. I will fly back tomorrow and resume my studies. This year, I have my GCSE exams, so it is crucial to focus on completing those. After that, we will see what the future holds.
"In our school, only tennis players are allowed in our classes. The Loughborough National Academy from the LTA have created these small classrooms just for us. I believe that it will be more comfortable being surrounded by fellow tennis enthusiasts, although it may feel different away from the school environment."
