The Kungens Kanna & Drottningens Pris is ranked as one of the world’s best junior tournaments for 14-year-olds. No less than 32 nations will be participating in the starting line-up, and soon the players will arrive in Stockholm and to the Royal Tennis Hall.
This year’s starting line-up is an open affair both on the boys’ and girls’ side which all adds to the excitement. To enter the main draw directly, you need to be top 50 ranked in Europe. Six of the top 10 boys and eight of the top 20 ranked girls are in the tournament.
European number five, Russian Anastasiia Gureva (picture), is the first seed in Drottningens Pris. Interesting opponent to Gureva is the American Clervie Ngounoue who finished last year by winning the Orange Bowl for 12 & Under. Another challenger for the title is Brenda Fruhvirtova (CZE) who is only twelve years old with a bright future ahead.
On the boys’ side, Maxim Zhukov (RUS) has had a promising start this year by winning RWB Christmas Cup and Kremlin Cup, both Category-1 tournaments. He is challenged among others by his fellow countryman Yaroslav Demin, who played in Stockholm last year as well, and Rashed Nawaf from Qatar, the finalist in Tarbes.
– When I see the starting line-up, I’m struck by the diversity. We are very proud to welcome promising and fierce national teams from Russia, France, England, Italy, Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Switzerland, Belarus and Estonia, says an enthusiastic Tournament Director Joe Beaton.