Penickova advances to semi-finals at ITF WTT Junior Finals, Twin Sister reaches semi-finals at W15 in Hilton Head; Forbes defeats Bigun at Norman M35; Stoiana reaches semi-finals W100 Tyler; Ghibaudo, Spizzirri advance at Challenger 100s

The semi-finals have been determined for the Final ITF World Tennis Tour juniors in Chengdu, China, with Kristina Penickova reaching the knockout stages and Jack Kennedy falling short despite his win today.

Round Robin qualifications can be very shaky, and that was the case in two of the four groups. In Kennedy’s Group B, Spain’s Andres Santamarta Roig handed Germany’s Max Schoenhaus his first defeat and Kennedy defeated compatriot Benjamin Willwerth, leaving Santamarta, Schoenhaus and Kennedy with 2–1 records. With each scoring victories over the other, the tiebreak went to sets won with Santamarta and Schoenhaus 4-2 and Kennedy 4-3, after Kennedy dropped a set against Willwerth while the other two did not. Because Santamarta defeated Schönhaus today, he ultimately finished first in the group, despite a straight sets defeat to Kennedy on Wednesday.

Jacopo Vasami from Itay was the only boy to advance to the semi-finals without a loss.

It was even crazier in the girls’ group B, where three players finished 1-2. Mia Pohankova, the Wimbledon girls champion, won a third-set tiebreak against Jana Kovackova today to win 3-0 in group play, but Hannah Klugman’s loss to Ruien Zhang meant she, Zhang and Kovackova were all 1-2. Klugman ultimately advanced with her 3-4 record in sets won, while Zhang and Kovackova were 3-5 in that category.

In addition to Pohankova, US Open girls champion Jeline Vandromme remained undefeated in group play.

Results from Friday, day three of Round Robin Play:

Girls Group A

Kristina Penickova[1](US) d. Charo Esquiva Banuls[7](ESP) 6-3, 6-2

Jeline Waterkamer[4](BEL) d. Julia Stusek[5](DU) 7-5, 6-4

Girls Group B

Ruien Zhang[8](CHN) d. Hanna Klugman[2](GBR) 7-5, 4-6, 7-5

Mia Pohankova[3](SVK) d. Jan Kovackova[6](CZE) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)

Boys Group A

Jacopo Vasami[3](ITA) d. Aleksandar Vasilev[1](BUL) 6-4, 6-0

Yannick Alexandrescou[6](ROU) d. Oskari Paldanius[8](FIN) 6-3, 6-0

Boys Group B

Jack Kennedy[5](US) d. Benjamin Wilwerth[7](USA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

Andrés Santamarta Roig[2](ESP) d. Max Schönhaus[4](DU) 7-5, 6-4

Saturday’s semi-final clashes give three players a clear advantage, with Vasami and Schoenhaus the only duo who have not played on the ITF Junior Circuit.

Santamarta has a 2-0 record over Alexandrescou, with both coming on clay this year.

Penickova has a 3-1 record against Pohankova, including a win in the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open juniors.

Vandromme has defeated Klugman twice in the junior slams this year: in the third round of the Australian Open and the semifinals of the US Open.

For those who did not make it to the semi-finals, placement matches for the 5-8 positions are also scheduled on Saturday.

2024 Kalamazoo 18s champion Matt Forbes, a qualifier, defeated 19-year-old Kaylan Bigun 6-3, 6-4 to advance to his first Pro Circuit semifinal. The Michigan State sophomore will play No. 7 seed Alex Martinez (Oklahoma) of Spain for a spot in the finals. No. 5 Raphael Perot (Texas A&M) of France, who has already won two M15 USTA Pro Circuit titles this fall, will play No. 6 seed Blaise Bicknell (Florida, Tenn.) in the semifinals.

Top seed Elvina Kalieva will play unseeded Francesa Pace in the upper semifinals in Norman, with No. 6 seed Jaeda Daniel (Auburn, NC State) taking on unseeded Ekaterina Khayrutdinova (Florida International, Auburn) in the lower semifinals.