The 2026 WT/GSPDP/ATF 14&U Team to Europe brought its its campaign to a close at the Antwerp Young Champions Cup in Wilrijk, Belgium, after four weeks of competition across France, Germany and Belgium.
The tour began with 12 young players from seven Asian nations. Over the next four weeks, they played against some of Europe’s best junior players, experienced different playing conditions and learned what it takes to compete in tournaments week after week while being away from home.
From the opening tournament in Paris, the team made its presence felt. Korea’s Seohyeon Kim won the girls’ singles title at the Open Stade Francais, while Syria’s Muhamad Eyad Saleem reached the boys’ final.
Kim continued her good form in Annecy, where all four girls’ singles semifinalists were members of the touring team. She went on to win the title after defeating Kazakhstan’s Aiym Kanagatova in the final. India’s Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar and Srishti Kiran also had a good tournament, with both players reaching the semifinals.
The strong performances continued in Duren. Kim completed a remarkable hat-trick of singles titles by winning the prestigious Super Category event. She finished her European campaign with 17 consecutive singles victories without dropping a set—an outstanding achievement across three demanding weeks.
Padmapriya and Srishti again reached the latter stages in Duren, while Puneeth Manohar and Aiym Kanagatova won their respective bonus draws. Puneeth also partnered Korea’s Mingeon Choi to win the boys’ doubles title.
By the time the tour reached its final week in Belgium, five members of the team—Seohyeon Kim, Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar, Srishti Kiran, Ethan Jake Frans and Punnapat Nimnuankul—had left to represent their countries at the World Tennis 14&U Junior Team Finals in Prostejov.
The remaining seven players completed the tour at the Category 1 Antwerp Young Champions Cup. Choi led the team’s challenge by reaching the boys’ singles final, where he finished runner-up to Rafael Papoian.
Kanagatova reached the girls’ singles quarterfinals and partnered Estonia’s Vera Morozova to finish runner-up in doubles. Puneeth and Him Wong of Hong Kong, also had a good week together, reaching the boys’ doubles semifinals.
Eyad Saleem and Him reached the boys’ singles Round of 16, while Puneeth, Tae Hee Kim and Lena Lin completed their singles campaigns in the Round of 32. Tae Hee and Lena also reached the girls’ doubles quarterfinals.
The results were important, but the four weeks offered the players much more than wins and trophies. They learned how to prepare for one tournament after another, recover between matches, adapt to new opponents and conditions, and handle both victories and difficult days on court.
They also travelled, trained and competed together as one team despite coming from different countries and backgrounds. The experience gave them a chance to learn from one another and build friendships that went beyond the results.
Some finished the tour with titles, others with deep runs, and earned the opportunity to represent their nations on one of the biggest stages in world junior team tennis. Each of them, however, returned with more experience than when the journey began.
Four weeks, four tournaments and countless lessons—the 2026 Team to Europe proved to be an important step in the development of another promising group of young Asian players.
Team to Europe 2026 – Players and Coaches
Boys
- Puneet Manohar (India)
- Ethan Jake Frans (Indonesia)
- Him Wong (Hong Kong, China)
- Punnapat Nimnuankul (Thailand)
- Muhamad Eyad Saleem (Syria)
- Mingeon Choi (Korea)
Girls
- Srishti Kiran (India)
- Seohyeon Kim (Korea)
- Lena Lin (Hong Kong)
- Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar (India)
- Tae Hee Kim (Korea)
- Aiym Kanagatova (Kazakhstan)
Coaches
- Radhika Kanitkar (India)
- Roland Kraut (Philippines)
- Ranil Harshana (Sri Lanka)
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