Dunlop champions Tomida and Tsujioka earn AO 2023 junior wildcards

Emerging Japanese talents Yuta Tomida and Shiho Tsujioka will travel to Melbourne Park in January after winning the Dunlop Road to the Australian Open Junior Championships 2023 tournament in Japan.

Their triumphs in the boys’ and girls’ singles events, staged on 13-16 November in the Japanese city of Yokkaichi, ensured both will receive main draw wildcards at the AO 2023 junior tournament.

The Dunlop event was created to offer international competitive opportunities for players in the Asia/Oceania region, with the goal of raising the level of junior tennis in this region.

It is also hoped the event will inspire players – not only the eventual champions, but other entrants in the field, plus future competitors – to work towards competing at prestigious global events such as the AO junior championships.

The Dunlop tournament was open to players aged 17 years and under. It featured 16-player boys’ and girls’ fields comprising 12 players from the wider Asia/Oceania region plus four Japanese players, including one player invited by Dunlop.

Other nations represented in Yokkaichi were China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Tomida, the boys’ champion, earned his wildcard thanks to a 6-1 6-2 win in Wednesday’s final over fellow countryman Hiromasa Koyama.

Earlier in the tournament, he went undefeated in the group stages before a semifinal victory over Malaysia’s Hayden Menon.

The result continues a great run of form for the 16-year-old Tomida, who is the reigning 16-and-under national champion in Japan and who recently represented his country at the Junior Davis Cup Finals.

Girls’ champion Tsujioka completed a dominant tournament with a 6-0 6-2 win over Thailand’s Ounmuang Salakthip to secure her AO junior wildcard.

The 15-year-old, already on the verge of the ITF world junior top 100, was the top seed at the event and did not drop a set in five matches.

She has enjoyed an excellent year on the ITF junior tour, winning 32 of 40 matches – including three singles titles – and improving her ranking by more than 300 places.

At the award ceremony, both Tomida and Tsujioka said they were thrilled to be realising a dream of playing their first Grand Slam tournament, and would try their best in Melbourne. 

The Australian Open 2023 junior championships will be held at Melbourne Park on 21-28 January.

It is one of the four Grand Slam junior events, which are among the most prestigious tournaments on the ITF Junior World Tennis Tour.

Australian Open junior champions often go on to achieve notable success in the professional game.

Notable AO junior champions this century

Since 2000, eight junior winners have gone on to reach Grand Slam finals, while four of those – Andy Roddick, Jelena Jankovic, Victoria Azarenka and Karolina Pliskova – ultimately became world No.1.

Players typically prepare for the AO junior championships at the high-profile Traralgon Junior International, which will be held on 11-18 January 2023.