- Unofficial world 14 and under, the Little Aces of Tarbes start this Monday.
- The Turkish Karahan is a favorite among boys, like the Czechs Bartunkova and Bejlek among girls.
- The next generation of French people seems more promising than in previous years, especially in the female sector.
Since Thursday morning, the first qualifying balls for the 38th Little As tournament have started to resonate on the courts of the Tarbes exhibition center. The Pyrenean city will host the Unofficial World Cup for young people aged 14 and under until February 2.
The tennis stars of tomorrow are counting on proving themselves by winning this prestigious competition, all the more so than the stars of today, including Rafael Nadal (winner in 2000), Roger Federer (eighth-finalist in 1995 ), or Simona Halep (quarter-finalist in 2005) went through this event.
Fit for a Grand Slam for teens
And if that was not enough, the tournament, whose main draw begins on Monday, has gone up one level. "Les Petits As by their professional organization for years have received Super Category status and we are the only ones in France", explains with pride Jean-Claude Knaebel, the director and co-founder of the event, created in 1982. Des play -off were organized in the United States and Asia, retaining the best 4 boys and girls from each continent to participate in the Little Aces.
We declare the 38th edition of Les Petits As - Le Mondial Lacoste as officially open🎾
For the next 11 days, the best U14 players in the world will fight for the same goal: go back home with the trophy! 🏆
Ready? Play! #LesPetitsAs pic.twitter.com/K91RH43k88
In the female picture, eastern Europe dominates very widely. The first two in the 2006 ranking are from the Czech Republic (Nikola Bartunkova ahead of Sara Bejlek), followed by a Polish (Weronika Ewald) and a Latvian (Valerija Maija Kargina).
Ambitious French women
The French women lie in ambush behind the favorites, with Carla Fity (number 5), Sarah Iliev (number 10) or the promising Shanice Roignot, French champion of 11-12 years old and who is one year younger.
On the boys' side, Théo Papamalamis and Leo Cohen Bacrie are further down in the hierarchy, in 15th and 21st rows respectively.
The Turkish Atakan Karahan, world number 1 of his generation and recent finalist of the Super Category tournament of Khimki (Russia), is presented as the favorite of the competition. His main competitor will be the Spaniard Martin Landaluce, his winner at Khimki.
Minimum objective: quarter-finals
Pierre Cherret, the national technical director (DTN), talks about the ambitions of the Habs: “For them, the objective is simple, reaching the quarter-finals to be able to give themselves the opportunity to dream even bigger, and why not, maybe to even lift this famous coveted trophy. The last French winner in Tarbes is Rayane Roumane in 2014. For girls, we have to go back to 2005 to find a blue-white-red finalist, with Gracia Radovanovic.
Toulouse
Future champions, chili sweets and DVD… Welcome to Les Petits As de Tarbes, the World Cup for 12-14 year olds
Toulouse
Petits As de Tarbes: At 13, Leo, Björn Borg's son, is already a phenomenon ... in the media
- Tarbes
- Tennis
- Sport