Les Petits As – Le Mondial Lacoste (English: Little champions – The Lacoste world championship) is a junior tennis tournament for players aged 12–14, held in Tarbes, France. This tournament is now one of the five Super Category tournaments in the U14 circuit of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour,[1][2] and it is universally recognized as the world’s leading indoor U14 competition.[3] The tournament is traditionally held at the end of January, although the 2020 and 2021 editions had to take place in September due to the Covid-19 pandemic.[3]

The event has seen a number of its champions go on to become slam winners, including Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Jeļena Ostapenko and Bianca Andreescu.[4][5] Due to the relatively restrictive age range, few players have won the title more than once, although Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky have both done so.[6] Most recently, upcoming Spanish player Carlos Boluda became the first boy to do so.

Format

The tournament is played on indoor GreenSet (hard) courts. Roughly 7,000 players enter the pre-qualifying tournaments held across France, with that number being narrowed down to 350 for the final qualifying stage, and 64 for the final tournament.[7] This event welcomes 45 000 visitors each year in Tarbes and garners over 125 000 live-stream viewers across 151 countries yearly.[8] The event is regulated by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and has businesses such as Head, Eurosport, Coca-Cola, and Peugeot amongst its portfolio of partners.[9]

Notably, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray faced each other for the very first time in the quarterfinals of the 2001 edition, which was won by Murray 6-0 6-1.[10][11][12] In the 2017 edition, the 13-year-old Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune played together in the doubles competition.[13] In 1994, future No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero produced one of the competition's most unexpected triumphs when he won the tournament without a ranking.[5]

Results

[14][15]

Boys' singles

Year Champion Runner-up Score
1983France Jean-Baptiste BolléeSpain Juan Manuel Naves
1984France Frédéric FontangCzechoslovakia Marek Miskolci
1985Netherlands Richard KrajicekFrance Philippe Leblanc
1986United States Michael ChangSweden Johan Alvén
1987Austria Reinhard WawraUnited States David Klein
1988United States Brian DunnAustria Julian Knowle
1989United States Tommy ShimadaSpain Gonzalo Corrales
1990France Maxime BoyéSweden Magnus Norman
1991Romania Răzvan SabăuSpain Juan Antonio Saiz
1992France Olivier MutisSweden Björn Rehnquist
1993Slovenia Miha GregorcRomania Dumitru Caradima
1994Spain Juan Carlos FerreroChile Fernando González
1995Belgium Olivier RochusSlovenia Gasper Martinjak
1996France Paul-Henri MathieuBulgaria Todor Enev
1997France Julien MaigretSpain Carlos Cuadrado2–6, 6–1, 6–2
1998United Kingdom Matthew SmithCroatia Mario Ančić6–1, 6–3
1999France Richard GasquetUnited States Brian Baker7–5, 6–3
2000Spain Rafael NadalFrance Julien Gely6–4, 6–1
2001Russia Alexandre KrasnoroutskiyUnited Kingdom Andy Murray3–6, 7–5, 6–3
2002United States Dylan ArnouldSwitzerland Robin Roshardt6–4, 7–6(7–2)
2003United States Donald YoungUnited States Leo Rosenberg6–2, 6–1
2004Australia Andrew ThomasUnited Kingdom Daniel Cox4–6, 6–2, 6–2
2005United States Chase BuchananGeorgia (country) Lazare Kukhalashvili6–4, 4–6, 6–4
2006Spain Carlos BoludaNew Zealand Sebastian Lavie7–6(7–3), 6–3
2007Spain Carlos BoludaUnited States Christian Harrison6–2, 6–2
2008Canada Edward NguyenUnited Kingdom Liam Broady6–4, 7–5
2009Serbia Nikola MilojevićCroatia Borna Ćorić6–2, 6–3
2010France Quentin HalysUnited States Noah Rubin6–1, 6–2
2011United States Henrik WiersholmRomania Bogdan Borza6–2, 5–7, 6–3
2012United States Frances TiafoeUnited States William Blumberg6–0, 6–2
2013Italy Samuele RamazzottiSerbia Miomir Kecmanović7–6(10–8), 0–6, 6–0
2014France Rayane RoumaneSpain Nicola Kuhn5–7, 7–5, 6–1
2015Chinese Taipei Tseng Chun-hsinRussia Timofey Skatov6–4, 6–1
2016United States Stefan LeustianCroatia Borna Devald6–2, 6–1
2017Italy Luca NardiSerbia Hamad Međedović6–2, 7–5
2018Bulgaria Victor LilovRussia Mikhail Gorokhov6–4, 7–6(7–6)
2019Czech Republic Vojtech PetrQatar Rashed Nawaf4-6, 6–4, 7–6(7–1)
2020Ukraine Oleksandr PonomarSwitzerland Janis Rafael Simmen6–4, 6-1
2021Czech Republic Maxim MrvaItaly Federico Cinà6–3, 3-6, 6-0
2022Netherlands Thijs BoogaardUnited States Carel Aubriel Ngounoue3-6, 6-2, 6-3
2023United Kingdom Mark CebanLebanon Daniel Jade6-3, 6-2

Girls' singles

Year Champion Runner-up Score
1983France Sybille Niox-ChâteauFrance Cécile Bourdaix
1984France Emmanuelle DerlyFrance Alexia Dechaume
1985Switzerland Sandrine JaquetSweden Annika Narbe
1986United States Laxmi PoruriNetherlands Yvonne Grubben
1987United States Kim KessarisAustria Ursula Priller
1988West Germany Anke HuberWest Germany Katherine Denn Samuel
1989France Nicole LondonCzechoslovakia Zdeňka Málková
1990West Germany Heike RuschUnited States Lindsay Davenport
1991Switzerland Martina HingisMadagascar Dally Randriantefy
1992Switzerland Martina HingisHungary Rita Kuti-Kis
1993United States Stephanie HalsellHungary Réka Vidáts
1994Russia Anna KournikovaGermany Stephanie Kovacik
1995Croatia Mirjana LučićBelgium Justine Henin
1996Croatia Jelena PandžićUnited States Melissa Middleton
1997Belgium Kim ClijstersRussia Elena Bovina7–5, 3–6, 6–2
1998Russia Lina KrasnoroutskayaGermany Caroline Raba
1999United States Bethanie MattekCroatia Matea Mezak
2000Russia Dinara SafinaLithuania Lina Stančiūtė
2001Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vojislava LukićBulgaria Dia Evtimova
2002Switzerland Timea BacsinszkyRussia Alisa Kleybanova
2003Switzerland Timea BacsinszkyRomania Raluca Olaru
2004Russia Yelena KulikovaUnited States Madison Brengle6–4, 6–4
2005Russia Ksenia PervakFrance Gracia Radovanovic
2006Canada Gabriela DabrowskiRussia Anna Arina Marenko6–3, 6–4[16]
2007Belarus Anna OrlikUnited States Nicole Gibbs6–4, 6–1
2008Russia Daria GavrilovaUnited Kingdom Laura Robson6–3, 6–3
2009Russia Yulia PutintsevaRussia Irina Khromacheva6–4, 6–2
2010Japan Kanami TsujiNetherlands Indy de Vroome4–6, 6–3, 6–4
2011Latvia Jeļena OstapenkoRussia Anastasiya Komardina1–6, 6–3, 6–3
2012Romania Jaqueline CristianUnited States Tornado Alicia Black6–2, 6–3
2013United States CiCi BellisRomania Andreea Amalia Roșca6–0, 6–2
2014Canada Bianca AndreescuUnited States Claire Liu6–4, 7–5
2015Russia Anastasia PotapovaSerbia Olga Danilović6–4, 6–4
2016Ukraine Marta KostyukCzech Republic Denisa Hindová6–2, 6–1
2017Russia Maria TimofeevaUkraine Daria Lopatetska6–3, 4–6, 6–3
2018Philippines Alexandra EalaCzech Republic Linda Nosková5–7, 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
2019Czech Republic Linda FruhvirtováBelgium Sofia Costoulas6–1, 6–0
2020Czech Republic Brenda FruhvirtováUnited States Clervie Ngounoue6–0, 3–6, 7–5
2021France Mathilde Ngijol CarreIsrael Mika Buchnik4-6, 6-2, 6-1
2022Germany Julia StusekUnited Kingdom Hannah Klugman6-3, 6-3
2023Russia Anna PushkarevaRomania Giulia Safina Popa7-5, 6-1

Exhibitions

The tournament often features retired and/or active players making appearances in exhibition matches in the evening preceding the final day of play. It is common for upcoming and veteran French players to be present. In recent tournaments, players present have included:

References

  1. ↑ "Les Petits As - Le Mondial Lacoste promoted to the Super Category!". www.lespetitsas.com. 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "Super Category". www.tenniseurope.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 "'Les Petits As' 2021 to take place in September". www.tenniseurope.org. 29 September 2020. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "Ces célèbres joueurs de tennis ont joué à Tarbes dans leur jeunesse: des pépites d'archives" [These famous tennis players played in Tarbes in their youth: nuggets from the archives]. actu.fr (in French). 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Tennis. Les Petits As de Tarbes: machine à champions" [Tennis. Les Petits As de Tarbes: machine for champions]. www.ladepeche.fr (in French). 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "CHAMPIONS - Les Petits As". www.lespetitsas.com (in French). Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "INTRODUCTION Logistic and Budget". www.lespetitsas.fr. Archived from the original on 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  8. ↑ "First Asian in Les Petits As". www.clubmed.com.my. 1 September 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Partners". www.lespetitsas.fr. Archived from the original on 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  10. ↑ "Open d'Australie: Murray face à Djokovic, 10 ans après" [Australian Open: Murray against Djokovic, 10 years later]. fr.tennistemple.com (in French). 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "Au bal des prétendants" [At the suitors' ball]. www.europe1.fr (in French). 29 January 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  12. ↑ "Djokovic fait le buzz en évoquant les Petits As de Tarbes et son 1e match face à Murray" [Djokovic creates buzz by talking about the Petits As de Tarbes and his first match against Murray]. www.tarbes7.fr (in French). 14 January 2019. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "When Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune played doubles together in junior tennis". www.sportskeeda.com. 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "The winners of Les Petits As". www.lespetitsas.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  15. ↑ "Tennis. Les Petits As : le palmarès complet du tournoi" [Tennis. Les Petits As: the complete prize list of the tournament]. www.ouest-france.fr (in French). 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  16. ↑ "Ontario Girls Win in Europe". Ontario Tennis. Ontario Tennis Association. 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
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