ITF Junior Masters


The ITF Junior Masters is a year-end singles tournament for the top-ranked 18-and-under tennis players on the ITF Junior Circuit. It is the second most prestigious annual junior event in terms of rankings points awarded, after the four junior grand slams. Each year, eight boys and eight girls participate in separate events. The tournament is designed to emulate the ATP Finals and WTA Finals. Each event features two round-robin groups vying for spots in the knockout rounds that determine the champion.
It is played outdoor on hard surface since first edition.

History

The ITF Junior Masters was founded in 2015, and has been held in Chengdu, China each year. The first two editions were held as exhibitions. 2017 edition of the competition was the first to be held at the end of the year. The ITF began awarding rankings points to participants in 2017, and the current points system started in 2018.

Format

In 2015 and 2016 it was a knockout tournament. Losers played placement matches: 3rd place play-off and 5th to 8th play-off.
In 2017 format was changed. The boys' and girls' events each consist of two round-robin groups of four players. The top two finishers in each group qualify for the championship knockout bracket. The bottom two finishers qualify for the 5th–8th place knockout bracket. In each bracket, one of the higher-ranked finishers from the round-robin stage plays the lower-ranked finisher from the opposite group. The winners of the first knockout matches in the championship bracket play for the title, while the winners of the first knockout matches in the 5th–8th place bracket play for 5th place. There are also 3rd-place and 7th-place matches for the losers of the first knockout matches. These final matches all award ITF junior rankings points to the winners as follows:
Final Position1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th
Points750450320220165145125105

Qualification

The top seven boys and girls in the ITF junior rankings automatically qualify for the tournament. The final slot in each event is reserved for the top ranked Chinese junior, provided they are ranked inside the Top 25. If there is no such player or if there already is a Chinese player who qualified in one of the top seven positions, the last spot goes to the eighth ranked player. The date for the rankings that are used is immediately after the conclusion of the US Open in September. Thus, these rankings incorporate results from all tournaments since, but not including the previous year's US Open. Additionally, the players must not turn 19 until the January following the tournament to be eligible.

Prize money

There is no prize money for the players, given that they are still juniors. However, there are travel grants for participation in the tournament that are awarded based on a player's performance in the event. These range from $7,000 to $15,000.

List of finals & participants

Boys

LocationYearChampionRunner-upScore3rd place4th place5th place6th place7th place8th place
Chengdu2015 Andrey Rublev Taylor Fritz6–7, 6–3, 6–4Lee Duck-heeOrlando LuzChung Yun-seongMichael MmohMarcelo ZormannJaume Munar
Chengdu2016 Hong Seong-chan Casper Ruud7–5, 6–3Marcelo Tomás Barrios VeraMiomir KecmanovićWilliam BlumbergÁlvaro López San MartínOrlando LuzLý Hoàng Nam
Chengdu2017 Emil Ruusuvuori Wu Yibing3–6, 6–1, 7–6Axel GellerSebastián BáezMarko MiladinovićJurij RodionovHsu Yu-hsiouTrent Bryde
Chengdu2018 Brandon Nakashima Tseng Chun-hsin6–2, 6–1Adrian AndreevHugo GastonLorenzo MusettiNicolás MejíaSebastián BáezMu Tao
Chengdu2019 Holger Vitus Nødskov Rune Harold Mayot7–6, 4–6, 6–2Valentin RoyerShintaro MochizukiJonáš ForejtekThiago Agustín TiranteLiam DraxlBu Yunchaokete

Girls