Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault: See you in Japan!

The famous tournament, whose aim is to promote and support the future of tennis, is stopping off in Tokyo from 16th to 20th October 2024.

Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault 2024 - Sao Paulo©Marcello Zambrana / DGW Comunicacao / FFT
 - Romain Vinot

Boosted by the all-round success of the Brazilian stage of the tournament – which was won by Nauhany Silva and Luis Miguel back in April – the Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault will bring together the top 32 Asian players under the age of 17 (16 boys and 16 girls) in just under a month’s time, in the Dai-Ichi Life Sogoen Tennis Court in Tokyo, where Japan’s young professional tennis players train for the clay season.

Helping to promote tennis in Asia

Since 2014, the Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault has been an opportunity for the best young tennis players from all over the globe to shine, with the winners of each edition being awarded a wildcard for the junior draw of the Parisian Grand Slam, after competing in qualifying tournaments played on clay. Held in Sao Paulo the last two years, the competition will take place in Tokyo from 16th to 20th October 2024 and will see players from nine Asian countries compete against one another.

Set up by the French Tennis Federation in collaboration with the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF), the Japanese Tennis Association (JTA) and with the support of Renault, BNP Paribas, Accor and Wilson, this initiative aims to shine the spotlight on a continent that is brimming with tennis talents. “We are very excited to work with the FFT to help deliver this premium opportunity to our deserving juniors to compete for the enviable spot in the 2025 Roland-Garros Juniors. Roland-Garros has a special niche and traction in the hearts of the tennis lovers and it brings a lot of inspiration for our aspiring players. Let’s go stronger, Asia,” said ATF President Yuriy Polskiy.

For the first time, FFT has teamed up with well-known manga artist Kasa to create the official poster for the Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault in Japan. Kasa, known for his popular tennis manga “Break Back”, which has been published since 2018, has lent his expertise to further enhance the Asian theme of the tournament. A former professional tennis player, Kasa met his idol Guillermo Coria at the end of his career and spent several weeks at the Argentinean's academy, with a view to becoming a coach. At the age of 30, he finally switched to manga drawing and launched a major tennis manga project for Akita Shoten. He now has 20 books to his name.

Poster officiel - Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault Japon©Kasa / FFT

A prestigious ambassador

In the same vein as Juan-Martin Del Potro in South America, the event scheduled this autumn will benefit from the support of a first-class ambassador, in the shape of Kei Nishikori. Three-time quarterfinalist at the Porte d’Auteuil (2015, 2017, 2019), the former World No.4 will follow the matches closely and will share his experience and advice with all of the competitors: “I am excited to be part of this project and help promote tennis in Asia. I want to thank Roland-Garros and the FFT for coming to Japan and helping support the future of Asian tennis. I'm looking forward to a couple of fun days.”

16 girls, 16 boys and one dream

Having been entered in the final draw thanks to their ITF ranking (as of 9th September) or their performance in the qualifying stages (held in August in Kazakhstan and China), the 32 competitors will give their all in a bid to make their dream come true and impress both the spectators on site and those watching on television, as the semifinals and final will be broadcast by WOWOW – official broadcaster of Roland-Garros for the last 30 years – and on the YouTube channel Star Tennis Academy.

The 16 boys entered are:

Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault Japon / Liste juniors garçons©FFT

The 16 girls entered are:

Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault Japon / Liste juniors filles©FFT