News & Features

by Colette Lewis, 23 July 2025

Special from Zoo Tennis

Wimbledon – The Wimbledon Junior Championships ran the gamut of unpredictable English weather, starting with cool rain showers and ending under a warm sun, with neither fazing Slovakia's Mia Pohankova and Bulgaria's Ivan Ivanov, who captured singles titles over American opponents on legendary Court One during the final weekend.

The unseeded Pohankova defeated sixth-seeded Californian Julieta Pareja 6-3, 6-1 to give Slovakia its second straight girls singles champion at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, while Ivanov, the No. 6 seed, downed qualifier Ronit Karki of New Jersey 6-2, 6-3 to join Grigor Dimitrov as the only Bulgarian boys to win a junior slam singles title.

Pohankova's 7-6(4), 6-1 first-round victory over 2024 US Open girls champion Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain immediately placed her in the category of title contender; the 16-year-old from Bratislava confirmed that status with her comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 quarterfinal win over 2024 Wimbledon finalist and top seed Emerson Jones of Australia. After a 6-4, 6-0 win over unseeded Vendula Valdmannova of the Czech Republic, also a semifinalist in 2024, Pohankova was set to face the streaking Pareja, who had won the ITF J300 in Roehampton the previous week.

Pareja took out No. 2 seed and Roland Garros finalist Hannah Klugman of Great Britain 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, then battled past another British girl with impressive grass credentials. Mimi Xu, who had two Top 100 wins in WTA tournaments leading up to Wimbledon, saved a match point in the semifinals before Pareja rebounded for a 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-4 victory.

With nearly every shaded seat on Court One filled for the final, Pohankova admitted her entrance into the brilliant sunshine took some adjustment.

"When I stepped on the court and saw the crowd, like, stadium is so big, I was a little bit nervous, first three games," Pohankova said. "I was just trying to play, and trying to do my best, like I did."

Down 3-1, Pohankova found her form, winning the next five games, as Pareja's unforced errors and ineffective serving kept the American from generating any momentum.

Prior to the start of nearly every point, Pohankova's several dozen family and friends, distributed among the players' box and the players' guests seating, began to clap. And while the majority of the crowd were neutral, some of the 7-8,000 in attendance joined in.

"I have a lot of friends from my country," said Pohankova, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open Junior Championships this year. "They are here this morning, come to watch me and support me and I really appreciate it. I like big courts. Many people there support us and I like it. Unbelievable atmosphere.”

Their encouragement continued as Pohankova extended her consecutive games winning streak to eight, breaking Pareja in her first two service games for a 3-0 lead in the second set. But Pareja got a break back to make it 3-1, only to lose her next service game with another errant forehand at 30-40.

"I knew that I could get back," said Pareja, a 16-year-old from Carlsbad, California, who had her perfect record on grass courts snapped at 11. "But I don't think my first serve percentage was good. I did a couple of double faults when I didn't need them, and it was tough to hold, starting from a second serve."

Pohankova sensed that her 3-0 lead was enough, and losing her serve in that fourth game did not affect the positive mindset she had adopted.

"I was more confident," said Pohankova, who is coached by Robert Gazparetz at the National Tennis Center in Bratislava. "When I led 3-0 second set, I feel like this is my game, my comfort zone."

After holding at love for 5-1 with some confident serving, Pohankova swung freely in Pareja's service game, and when she put away a backhand to get to match point, the persistent clapping neared its peak. It ended there, with Pohankova forcing a backhand error from Pareja to claim the second straight Wimbledon girls title for a Slovakian.

"It is incredible moment because Renáta (Jamrichova) won last year, two Slovak girls won two years," Pohankova said. "Unbelievable for Slovakia tennis."

But as elated as Pohankova appeared in her post-match press conference, she also revealed a higher ambition.

"I need to win like real Wimbledon, not juniors," said Pohankova, who won an ITF women's World Tennis Tour W75 last October, beating Jamrichova in the final. "I think this is just the start."

Pareja will be turning her attention to the USTA Nationals in San Diego next month, with increased confidence that she can adapt to any challenges that may arise there.

"I know that it was super special," Pareja said of her immediate success on a surface she had never encountered prior to this month. "I'm happy to have been able to experience it and hopefully learn something from this."

Ivanov, a semifinalist last month at Roland Garros, had his path to the title cleared early, with top seed Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain losing to Ziga Sesko of Slovenia 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round and No. 2 seed Jacopo Vasami of Italy falling to No. 14 seed Alan Wazny of Poland 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 in the third round.

Ivanov avenged his Roland Garros semifinal loss to No. 13 seed Max Schoenhaus to reach his first junior slam final, beating the 17-year-old German 7-6(7), 7-6(5) on Show Court 18.

Karki, the top seed in the qualifying tournament, had beaten four seeds, the last three from a set down, to reach the final. After taking out No. 8 seed Jack Kennedy, No. 14 Wazny in the quarterfinals and No. 12 Alexander Vasilev of Bulgaria 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals, the 17-year-old, now training in Florida, had no reason to fear another seed in the final. But Ivanov put together the best performance of his career on the biggest stage, making 15 of 16 first serves in his initial three service games and sustaining the effort throughout the championship match.

"I knew my serve is going well," said the 16-year-old Ivanov, who did not lose a set in his six victories, winning all four of the tiebreakers he played. "I wanted it to go well very badly, so I could have position on the court. I was feeling my serve very well today, probably my best weapon."

Ivanov inevitably dropped from those serving heights, ending with a first serve percentage of 65, but he didn't face a single break point and controlled the court with his depth and pace, hitting 22 winners and making only 15 unforced errors.

Karki was able to adjust after saving two break points to keep from falling behind 4-0, but could not dent Ivanov's serve. In the second set, Ivanov used his potent forehand to break for a 3-1 lead and kept that break in the second and last deuce game on his serve by virtue of an ace—in by the smallest of margins on the Electronic Line Calling replay—which gave him a game point. Karki made an unforced forehand error, and that proved to be the last of the match's drama, as much as the ever-growing crowd arriving on site for the men's final, were hoping otherwise.

Karki did hold in his next two service games, forcing Ivanov to serve out the match. Ivanov finally showed he was not immune to pressure, failing to land a first serve on the first four points, but he did not double fault and Karki did not take advantage of his opportunities, making an unforced error on a second serve return to give Ivanov two match points.

Karki made a good return on the first, forcing an error from Ivanov. But a devious backhand on the sideline in the next rally ended it, with Ivanov collapsing on the baseline, flat on his back, arms extended, in celebration.

Karki felt he managed the occasion well, while crediting Ivanov for his commitment to playing aggressively throughout the match.

"I think I handled my nerves pretty well, stayed calm the whole match, didn't get too down on myself," said the Stanford recruit. "But he definitely played a great match. I felt the pressure from him from the first point, going for shots, and that ended up paying off. He took more risks, and on that second match point I thought he'd play a low-risk ball, keep the rally going. But he played with a lot of balls today, and that shot just reflects it."

Karki, playing his eighth match of the tournament, said he felt fine physically, and while he appreciated the day off Saturday, would have had no problem playing the final then.

"Honestly I felt I could have played a match yesterday, I felt good," Karki said. "I was recovering pretty good the whole week, physically I felt great yesterday, but I felt even better today."

Karki's next tournament is the USTA Nationals in Kalamazoo, and he has gained added confidence in his game from his Wimbledon results.

"It just gives me more confidence that I can play at a very high level," Karki said. "Obviously it's a little different, playing on grass and all, but it's more about the competing. I had a lot of matches where I was kind of behind and found a way to figure it out and not panic, so I think from that perspective it will help me a lot to grow as a player and as a competitor."

Ivanov, who has trained at the Rafael Nadal Academy for more than two years, also zeroed in on the mental strides he's recently made.

"My discipline, that's something that I'm really working on," said Ivanov, who will attempt to win back-to-back junior slam titles in New York, as Dimitrov did in 2008. "My way of being on the court from the beginning to the end and not disconnecting at any point is something that I had been working on. I think that's what I did better in London than in Paris."

DOUBLES

Although five Americans reached Wimbledon junior finals (Pareja was in both singles and doubles), only Kristina Penickova was able to claim a champion's trophy. The 15-year-old from California, playing with Czech Vendula Valdmannova, won her second junior slam doubles title, with the No. 8 seeds beating No. 5 seeds Pareja and Thea Frodin 6-4, 6-2 Sunday afternoon, an improbable result after dropping their first set of the tournament as a last-minute pairing.

Penickova and Valdmannova both were scrambling to find partners before Roehampton, after injuries led to the withdrawals of their initial partners.

Penickova, who won the Australian Open girls doubles title in January with twin sister Annika, seized the opportunity when Valdmannova's partner, 2024 Orange Bowl champion Tereza Krejcova, also withdrew with an injury.

"I was just like, ‘hey, are we playing doubles?’" Penickova said.

"And I said ‘sure,’" Valdmannova said. "And here we are."

After dropping that first set, Valdmannova and Penickova won their next three matches by identical 7-6, 6-2 scores, signaling a readiness for any tight moments.

"I've had a lot of tiebreakers in doubles," Penickova said. "In those situations, you just say, here we go, there's nothing to lose in the end, so you just kind of go for it."

"She knows what to do," Valdmannova said. "She's the boss."

In the final, they avoided a tiebreaker by saving all five break points they faced while converting three out of five break points in the 59-minute final on Show Court 12.

The boys doubles final was scheduled for Court One, no doubt due to the presence of Britain's Oliver Bonding. And while the crowd swelled after the end of the women's championship match on Centre Court, most went home disappointed, with Roland Garros doubles champions Oskari Paldanius of Finland and Alan Wazny of Poland saving two match points in their 5-7, 7-6(6), 10-5 victory over Bonding and American Jagger Leach.

Bonding and Leach, the No. 8 seeds, had taken the first set from Roland Garros champions Paldanius and Wazny 7-5, and led 6-4 in the second set tiebreaker, with a second serve coming from Wazny, who had double faulted on set point in the opening set. But Wazny hit a second serve ace to save it, and Wazny and Paldanius took the next three points to force a match tiebreaker to decide the championship.

"It was his idea," said Wazny, crediting Paldanius with the decision to go big on the second serve. "He said, 'go wide, and I cross,' and I was 'what? what?'. But it was a good call. And I also felt like, ok, we have nothing to lose, just go for it, and it went in."

Leach still had a match point on his serve in the second set. He made the first serve, but what Wazny called a "full power" return put Leach and Bonding on defense, with Bonding's backhand volley going long.

The match tiebreaker featured three lob winners, one by Leach and two by Paldanius, with that final one giving Paldanius and Wazny a 9-5 lead in the deciding tiebreaker.

"We talked before the match with our coaches that they like to come really close to the net and are really good with the volleys," said Paldanius. "So if I see them coming forward, I'll play a lob. Usually, when you're playing a final there's some nerves, you're a bit scared, maybe you don't have the feel. But today I felt pretty good and at 8-5, I played an unbelievable lob, and after the slow bounce, I said I was going to add so much spin that the ball is not going out."

Although their experience at Roland Garros no doubt helped them, the singular atmosphere on Court One was daunting, yet ultimately rewarding.

"Winning Roland Garros I would say was the best moment of my life," Paldanius said. "Now, winning a match when we saved match points and played on Court One with a full crowd, supporting each other, what a level in the match, it's an even better feeling."

Paldanius and Wazny are planning to go for a third straight junior slam title in September in New York.

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About Colette Lewis

Colette Lewis has covered topflight U.S. and international junior events as a freelance journalist for over a decade. Her work has appeared in Tennis magazine, the Tennis Championships magazine and the US Open program. Lewis is active on Twitter, and she writes a weekly column right here at TennisRecruiting.net. She was named Junior Tennis Champion for 2016 by Tennis Industry Magazine.

Lewis, based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has seen every National Championship final played since 1977, and her work on the tournament's ustaboys.com website led her to establish ZooTennis, where she comments on junior and college tennis daily.