Spectacular tennis action at IMG Junior Championships

One of the world's biggest tennis tournaments is being contested this week in Bradenton: the IMG International Junior Championships, previously known as the Eddie Herr Championships.

Around 1500 entrants in the boys and girls 12s, 14s, 16s, and 18s divisions, with both singles and doubles, adds up to a lot of revenues, at a $175 entry fee. Competitors from over 90 different nations have been blasting forehands and backhands all week, and there are more story lines happening for one reporter to handle, but I'll try my best...

In the third seed in the girls' 18s, Luna Cinelli, from Argentina, stood out as one of the few females to use a one-handed backhand (the only one I've seen so far). She was upset by the UK's 16-year-old Hollie Smart 63 75. Boys 3 seed Ryo Tabata also met a similar fate as he was dismissed by South Africa's Connor Doig.

The no. 9 seed, Michael Antonius of Buffalo, NU, suffered his first loss ever at the tournament after winning the Eddie Herr 12s title in 2022 and the 14s title in 2023 (he skipped last year). Yesterday, the heavy-hitting baseliner Antonius lost a three-hour and 35-minute marathon vs. Pedro Henrique Chabalgoity of Brazil 62 67(8) 6-3.

The biggest surprise was on Monday when American wildcard 16-year-old Jerrid Gaines Jr. knocked off the two-seed Oskari Paldanius of Finland 76 61. The South Florida-based Gaines is ranked ITF 273, and Paldanius is ranked no. 11.

While dozens of courts are filled all day with sensational action in all divisions - every kid has every shot technically mastered already, even by age 12 - the astounding combat on each court looks not much different than the professional level tennis you can see on TV or at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Another aspect of this unique experience of watching high-level junior tennis is that it's difficult for an observer to focus on one match because all the courts are clustered together, and you can watch about ten different matches from the same point of view. And it's easy to be distracted by constant roars and expressions of celebration after so many dynamic points. I guarantee that if you watch for a few hours, you will see some of the most incredible tennis you have ever seen.

Sofia Belinska of Ukraine is a standout player for her fine play - she's good enough already to win multiple prize money tournaments in Florida, but also her emotional intensity, after every point she screams in joy or converses with herself and or her mom/coach. She lost today to a bigger, stronger, older Russian girl, but she was impressive in defeat, and it's easy to imagine seeing this blond bomber playing pro tennis on TV in a few years.

Perhaps the two most recognizable names in the tournament were Lani Chang and Emanuel Ivanisevic, who are the offspring of former Grand Slam champions Michael Chang (USA) and Croatia's Goran Ivanisevic. However, the value of their names counted for little, as each lost in the first round of their respective draws.

While all the ambitious juniors battle it out on court, tournament attendees can also see several notable professionals practicing on outer courts such as Juncheng "Jerry" Shang, Sebastian Korda, Martin Damm Jr, Michael Mmoh, Lulu Sun, and Murphy Cassone. Peyton Stearns and Christian Harrison.

Another element of the event is that you can see top college coaches from all over the nation observing the young players' styles, competitive natures, and instincts.

In recent years, some very famous figures have visited the tournament - about four or five years ago, former World Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson came to watch his daughter Milan play in the 14s qualifying tournament, and she won two exciting matches in the first two rounds before losing her third. Also, NHL legend Wayne Gretzky was spotted on the IMG grounds with his daughter, Emma, who suffered a 0606 loss. Emma later played college tennis at Southern Methodist University.

Also, tennis greats like Ivan Lendl, Mary Pierce, Petr Korda, Hans Gildemeister, Lindsay Davenport, and Brian Gottfried have served as coaches at the tournament.

There is no cost of admission, and parking across the street from the IMG Academy is free.

Quote of the day: "Every kid here has had hundreds of thousands of dollars of coaching to get to this level."

Scoop Malinowski's next tennis book, Facing Andre Agassi, will be published in early 2026.