This March the most important U18 International Tennis Tournament in Spain returns. The twentieth edition will take place from 21 to 28 at the JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy, where the participation of the best youth teams in the world is expected. This means the return to elite tennis in Villena, this time with the realization of the 'Juan Carlos Ferrero Trophy' Grade 1 that is part of the ITF Juniors circuit, where the participation of the best tennis rackets and promises worldwide is expected. .
In 2020, the women's final was attended by the 2020 Australian Open Jr champion, Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva and the 2020 Roland Garros Jr champion, Elsa Jacquemont in a dispute also for the world number 1, where the latter was enshrined. Some of the finalists from previous editions are nowadays great tennis references: Andrey Rublev, Pablo Carreño-Busta or Johanna Konta. This tournament will begin on March 16, with a Pre-qualy where the champions of each box will get a place in the final ITF Junior draw while the finalists, a place in the Preview.
The ITF J1 VILLENA Trophy Juan Carlos Ferrero is one of the most illustrious tournaments on the circuit, and in fact, after a prior process, he is in the final nomination for promotion to grade A, the level of the Grand Slam. There are only 8 tournaments in the world of this category. All of them located in large cities, Villena being the only non-main city in the country that is in this contest. The other nominations in the final contest are Germany and the Czech Republic. This decision will be made by the ITF Junior Committee in mid-March. Both the Academy and the RFET are immersed in the elections, already happy to have reached this point but wanting more, as it would be a great boost for youth tennis.
The organization of so many editions and being able to be selected as a future ITF Grade A, would not be possible without the constant support of the associations and brands that make this a great tournament possible: Postre Reina, HEAD, Diputación de Alicante, MI Ayuntamiento de Villena, the Spanish Olympic Committee and the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation through the PAC CV Competition Support program.