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
editThe 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
editBoys' singles
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Girls' singles
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Exhibitions
editThe 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:
- 2004: Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte.
- 2005: Juan Carlos Ferrero (a former champion) and David Nalbandian, who replaced compatriot and French Open champion Gastón Gaudio at the last minute.
- 2006: Rafael Nadal and Fabrice Santoro.
- 2007: Richard Gasquet and Gaël Monfils.
- 2008: Fabrice Santoro and Marc Gicquel, after Paul-Henri Mathieu and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew. Mathieu, who had injured himself at the 2008 Australian Open, signed autographs instead.
References
edit- ^ "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.
- ^ "Super Category". www.tenniseurope.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- ^ a b "'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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "CHAMPIONS - Les Petits As". www.lespetitsas.com (in French). Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ "INTRODUCTION Logistic and Budget". www.lespetitsas.fr. Archived from the original on 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Partners". www.lespetitsas.fr. Archived from the original on 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "The winners of Les Petits As". www.lespetitsas.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Ontario Girls Win in Europe". Ontario Tennis. Ontario Tennis Association. 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
External links
edit- Les Petits As website (in French and English)
- 2008 Boys' Singles draw
- 2008 Girls' Singles draw