South Africa champions were crowned in four age groups on Sunday, with players from across the country showcasing their immense talent in the finals of the American Express Junior National Championships in Bloemfontein.
In the Boys 18 final, top seed Dehan van Deventer (who plays for Van der Stel Tennis Club in the Western Cape) defeated No 5 seed Cooper McCarthy (Pinelands Tennis Club, Western Cape) to secure the SA title with a 6-2 6-4 victory.
"This is a huge achievement for me because it's such an important tournament for the year, and now I'm looking forward to playing some ITF Futures tournaments," Van Deventer said after the match.
Meri Sandenbergh (Recreation Tennis Club, Western Cape), the No 5 seed, beat unseeded opponent Cara le Grange (Hoopstad Skool, Free State), earning a straight sets 6-1 6-3 win in the Girls 18 final.
"I'm very proud of myself for winning this tournament. It was an amazing experience and I played really well this week. Winning was such a nice privilege and I'm very grateful," Sandenbergh said.
"My next goal in my career is to try get my junior ranking up so I can play at the US Open at the end of the year, so I will try my best, stay positive and fight hard for that."
Players who reached finals at the American Express Junior National Championships received wildcard entries from Tennis South Africa for various international tournaments to be contested later this year.
Results of finals:
Boys 18 - [1] Deehan van Deventer beat [5] Cooper McCarthy 6-2 6-4
Girls 18 - [5] Meri Sandenbergh beat Cara le Grange 6-1 6-3
Boys 16 - [1] Daniel Brink beat [2] Israel Dowie 7-5 6-4
Girls 16 - [3] Charlotte Bouwer beat [11] Lika Claassens 6-4 2-6 6-4
Boys 14 - [1] Tristan Summers beat [2] Alec Koch 6-3 6-1
Girls 14 - [7] Ariana van der Westhuizen beat [1] Winnie Masemola 6-2 6-1
Boys 12 - [1] Zoran Meyer beat [2] David Hobson 6-2 6-1
Girls 12 - [1] Linja Erasmus beat [3] Lesedi Lamola 6-1 6-3