Six days of clay-court tennis came to an end at Gorky Tennis Park as Kiarash Sadeghizeidi of Iran and Aleksandra Barmicheva of Uzbekistan claimed the boys’ and girls’ singles titles at the 2026 Roland-Garros Junior Series by Renault, Qualifications – West and Central Asia.
Held in Almaty from 17 to 22 August, the tournament brought together 16 boys and 16 girls from across West and Central Asia. Along with competing for the titles, the players were chasing four important qualification places in the Roland-Garros Junior Series Asia Finals in Japan.
The tournament began with a round-robin stage, giving every player the opportunity to play several matches before moving into the placement draws. As the week progressed, the competition became tougher and the leading contenders began to emerge.
In the boys’ draw, Kazakhstan’s Rodion Traigel secured his place in the final with a 6-2 6-4 victory over compatriot Amir Askar. On the other side of the draw, Sadeghizeidi defeated Kazakhstan’s B. Bauyrzhanov 6-2 6-3 to reach the title match.
The boys’ final produced one of the closest contests of the week. Sadeghizeidi took the opening set before Traigel responded to force a decider. The Iranian regained control in the final set and completed a 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory to finish the tournament as champion.
The girls’ competition also featured several strong performances from the host nation. Kazakhstan had three players in the semifinals, but Barmicheva continued her impressive run by defeating Tamina Saken 6-2 6-2.
The second semifinal was an all-Kazakhstan battle between Alua Marat and Aiym Kanagatova. After three competitive sets, Marat came through 7-5 5-7 6-2 to earn her place in the final.
Barmicheva carried her form into the title match and produced another composed performance. The Uzbek defeated Marat 6-2 6-4 to lift the girls’ singles trophy and complete an excellent week in Almaty.
While Sadeghizeidi and Barmicheva left Gorky Tennis Park as champions, the week also brought an important reward for Traigel and Marat. As the top two finishers in their respective draws, all four finalists have qualified for the Roland-Garros Junior Series Asia Finals in Japan.
There, they will join the four qualifiers from Hainan—Shundu Yuan, Mochen Xu, Ziduan Zhao and Ruoming Zhao—as the journey towards Roland-Garros continues.
For some players, Almaty ended with a trophy. For others, it brought valuable matches and experience on clay. For Sadeghizeidi, Traigel, Barmicheva and Marat, however, the next stage is already waiting. Their road from Gorky Tennis Park to Japan has officially begun.
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