The GSPDP/World Tennis/Asian Tennis Federation (ATF)14&U Touring Team to Europe completed another successful week in Europe with strong results at the 49th Internationale Deutsche Tennismeisterschaften U14 in Duren, Germany. Held from 25 July to 1 August, the tournament was the fifth Super Category event of the 2026 Tennis Europe Junior Tour season.
Korea’s Seohyeon Kim continued her outstanding run by winning the girls’ singles title, her third championship in as many weeks. Kim defeated China’s Ketong Guo 6-4 7-6 in the final. Guo had come through qualifying and reached the championship match without dropping a set, but Kim held her nerve in a closely contested final to complete another unbeaten week.
The Korean youngster began her European campaign by winning the Open Stade Français in France. She followed it with the Tennis Europe U14 d’Annecy title before completing the three-week sweep at the Internationale Deutsche Tennismeisterschaften U14 in Duren. Kim finished the three tournaments with a perfect 17-0 singles record and did not lose a set throughout the entire run.
The Touring Team had a major presence in the girls’ singles semi-finals, with three of the four places secured by its players. Along with Kim, India’s Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar and Srishti Kiran reached the last four. Kim defeated Srishti 6-0 6-2, while Padmapriya’s impressive run was ended by eventual runner-up Ketong Guo, who won their semifinal 6-0 6-4.
The team added another trophy in the boys’ doubles, where Korea’s Mingeon Choi and India’s Puneeth Manohar emerged as champions. Choi and Manohar faced Mexico’s Patricio Alvarez Chavez and Brazil’s Vitor Marques Moraes in the final. Their opponents were forced to retire after the opening game, handing the Touring Team pair the title.
India’s Puneeth Manohar and Kazakhstan’s Aiym Kanagatova added two more titles for the Touring Team by winning the boys’ and girls’ Bonus Draws respectively. The singles main draw in Duren featured 64 players, with 32 eliminated in the opening round. Those players were eligible to enter the Bonus Draw—a separate consolation event that gave them another opportunity to continue competing during the tournament. Puneeth and Aiym made the most of that second chance, finishing the week as champions of their respective Bonus Draw competitions.
The week concluded with another special honour as India was named the tournament’s Best Nation. The award recognises not only a nation’s performance on the court, but also the sportsmanship, fair play, positive attitude and conduct displayed by its players and coaches throughout the week.
India received a rolling trophy presented annually in memory of Bjorn Kroner, the tournament’s long-serving director, who passed away in 2021. Kroner was closely associated with the development of the event and was described by the organisers as “The soul of the tournament.” Radhika Kanitkar, one of the Indian coaches accompanying the GSPDP/World Tennis/ATF 14&U Touring Team, received the prestigious “Bjorn-Kroner-Pokal” on behalf of India.
With three singles semi-finalists, a girls’ singles champion, a boys’ doubles title and victories in both Bonus Draws, Duren marked another highly productive week for the young Asian players on their European tour.
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