The Roland-Garros Junior Championships in Paris had a special Asian pathway story this year through Japan’s Kanta Watanabe and Yui Komada. Both players reached the junior Grand Slam stage after coming through the Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault in Asia, a programme organised by the French Tennis Federation in partnership with the Asian Tennis Federation and the Japan Tennis Association.
The 2025 Asian edition was held in Tokyo from 13 to 19 October at the Dai Ichi Life Sogoen Tennis Court. It brought together 32 under-16 players from across Asia, with 16 boys and 16 girls competing for the two main draw spots at the 2026 Roland-Garros Junior Championships.
The route to Tokyo was built through a wider selection process. Some players entered through their ITF World Tennis Tour Junior rankings, while others came through regional qualifiers held in Kazakhstan and China. The West and Central Asia qualifier was played at Gorky Tennis Park in Almaty, Kazakhstan, while another regional qualifier was held at the Haidian Foreign Language School Hainan Club in Hainan, China. The remaining places were awarded through wild cards from FFT, ATF and JTA.
This structure helped bring together young players from different parts of Asia, not only from the region’s traditional tennis centres, but also from countries where junior tennis is still growing. That is one of the most important parts of the Series. It is not only about finding winners, but also about giving young players exposure, experience and the feeling of being part of a bigger tennis journey.
The week in Tokyo also offered more than match play. The programme included activities on and off the court, including an exhibition, coaching sessions and workshops aimed at helping the players grow beyond the competition itself. The tournament was played in group stages before moving into the semi-finals and finals, giving the players several matches and a stronger learning experience.
In the end, Kanta Watanabe and Yui Komada came through as the champions. Watanabe won the boys’ title, while Komada claimed the girls’ crown, and both earned their tickets to the 2026 Roland-Garros Junior Championships in Paris. Dongjae Kim of Korea and Minami Suzuki of Japan also finished third in the boys’ and girls’ categories respectively, adding to a strong week of junior tennis in Tokyo.
For Watanabe and Komada, the journey did not stop with their titles in Japan. It took them all the way to the red clay of Paris, where they became part of the Roland-Garros Junior Championships alongside other young players from Asia. Their presence in Paris was more than just a personal achievement. It showed how a regional pathway can give Asian juniors a real chance to reach one of the biggest stages in tennis.
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