The 2026 Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault – Qualifications East, South East and South Asia came to a close in Hainan, with China’s Shundu Yuan and Ziduan Zhao winning the boys’ and girls’ titles.
Held from 10 to 15 August at AGTA Tennis Academy, the tournament brought together some of the best young players from across the region. More importantly, it offered them a chance to move one step closer to Roland-Garros through the Junior Series pathway.
The players spent the first three days competing in round-robin groups. This gave everyone several matches on the clay before they moved into the playoff stage, where the final positions were decided.
As the week progressed, the Chinese players became difficult to stop. Shundu Yuan began the boys’ event with three straight wins in his group and did not drop a set. His place at the top of the group earned him direct entry into the last four, where he faced Vietnam’s Tien Anh Le.
Le won the opening set of their semifinal, but Yuan responded strongly and was leading 2-6 6-4 5-1 when the Vietnamese player was forced to retire. Mochen Xu had also enjoyed an unbeaten round-robin campaign. He then came through a close three-set match against Korea’s John Bang 4-6 6-4 6-3, before defeating Singapore’s Andre Harnadi 6-1 6-2 in the semifinal.
The two Chinese players met in the final, with Yuan producing his best performance of the week to win 6-0 6-2 and take the boys’ title.
China enjoyed the same success in the girls’ event. Ziduan Zhao made an excellent start to the tournament, winning both of her round-robin matches without dropping a set. Her toughest test came in the semifinal against Hong Kong’s Hiu Lam Ella Wong, where she recovered after losing the second set to win 6-2 4-6 6-2.
Ruoming Zhao was equally impressive on her way to the final. She won all three of her group matches in straight sets before defeating Malaysia’s Audrey Wen Si Teng and Indonesia’s Gwen Emily Kurniawan in the playoffs.
The girls’ final proved to be one of the best matches of the week. Ruoming won a close opening set, but Ziduan stayed in the contest and slowly turned the match around. She took the next two sets to complete a 6-7(4) 6-3, 6-3 victory and finish the tournament as champion.
The results meant that all four Chinese finalists secured their places at the Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault Final Tournament in Japan. Shundu Yuan and Mochen Xu qualified from the boys’ event, while Ziduan Zhao and Ruoming Zhao earned the two available places in the girls’ event.
For these four players, the journey now continues in Japan this October. They will join other leading young players from across Asia, with the eventual boys’ and girls’ champions earning wildcards for the 2027 Roland-Garros Junior Championships in Paris.
The week in Hainan was not only about the two champions. Players from across East, South East and South Asia had the opportunity to play several competitive matches, learn how to adjust to clay and test themselves against different styles of play.
Some finished the tournament with titles, others came close, but every player left Hainan with more experience. For Yuan, Xu, Ziduan and Ruoming, there is now another important tournament waiting—and the road from Hainan to Japan has officially begun.
As the Hainan tournament comes to an end, the Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault – Qualifications West and Central Asia begins today in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where another group of young players will compete for their places in Japan.
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