MEET THE BRITISH TEENAGER WHO FOLLOWED IN EMMA RADUCANU’S FOOTSTEPS BY WINNING A US OPEN TITLE

British tennis lived through an emotional few weeks after Andy Murray called time on his career at the 2024 Olympic Games, but new stars are emerging and Mika Stojsavljevic is the latest to announce her arrival.

The 15-year-old Londoner beat Wakana Sonobe 6-4, 6-4 to become the first Briton to win the girls’ tournament at the US Open since Heather Watson in 2009, after what was a hugely impressive week for British juniors in New York.

Stojsavljevic followed up her impressive semi-final display, where she ousted Iva Jovic – the 16-year-old American who made it to the second round of the main women’s draw – with another assured performance.

It came 24 hours after Jack Draper’s semi-final defeat in the men’s draw and shows the future of British tennis is looking bright.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” the unseeded Stojsavljevic told Sky Sports Tennis. “I’m grateful to my coaches this week and for my family supporting me from back home.

“When I was serving for it I knew I just had to trust myself and treat it like any other game so I think I did that quite well.

“I love fighting. I think it’s so fun to compete and to play every match – I really enjoy it. And obviously when you win it’s such a great feeling.”

Stojsavljevic will head back home with the biggest title of her career now on her CV and she will be straight back to her studies as she tries to come back down to earth after her heroics in New York.

She is back to school straight away at Loughborough Amhurst School, which is tied to the LTA National Academy, and is praying she avoids a maths lesson on her first day back.

“I’m going back to school on Tuesday. I’m flying back on Sunday and then going back to school,” she said.

“I have my GCSEs this year, and obviously it’s important to get those done. We’ll see after that.

“I hate maths! I haven’t got my timetable yet, but I’m sure it will be pretty intense. It probably might be a little bit different for me.

“In our set-up, it’s only tennis players in our classroom. They have made these really small classrooms to make sure it’s just focused on us.

“So I think it will be a little bit easier just being with tennis people, but around school it might be a little bit different.”

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Stojsavljevic’s doubles partner Mimi Xu from Wales also impressed at the US Open junior event as she reached the semi-finals, while Scotland’s Charlie Robertson made it through the semi-finals in the Boys’ event.

The British junior scene is thriving right now, with teenager Hannah Klugman ranked in the top 10 of the ITF’s Junior rankings, along with Xu.

LTA Women’s National Coach Katie O’Brien is overseeing the development of the impressive crop of British players, with the World Tennis Tour an important stepping stone for the next chapters of their careers.

“We have really good depth of talent amongst our junior girls,” former British No 1 O’Brien told the LTA website.

“Our girls all get along so well and it feels like they are driving each other on, while also inspiring the generation just behind them.

“It helps that they are developing as a pack. There is not a single stand-out player as they are all very good, so they will drive each other on and progress together.

“These players are still very much at a developmental stage, but they are progressing quickly as they have played in some high profile and also have Junior Grand Slam experience.

“Our domestic competitions calendar and the ITF tournaments we have in Britain now are so important as we have been able to give our players a chance to test themselves against some of the best players in the world, which has helped to ensure our junior game is in a healthy state.”

2024-09-08T15:41:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd