IC Rod Laver Junior Challenge - 2024 Regionals Summary

Following a hugely successful 2023 finals in La Jolla, California, attended by Rod Laver himself, 2024 marked that start of the latest edition of the IC Rod Laver Junior Challenge. The competition, which is the only IC event for juniors, aims to provide an opportunity for promising young players to begin a relationship with their respective ICs, travelling abroad to compete while also learning about new cultures in the true spirit of the IC. The competition runs in cycles of two years, with five regional events in year one, and a worldwide final in year two. This year, a total of 18 countries participated in the regional competitions and 6 will be competing in the upcoming worldwide final.

South America was the first regional event which kicked off in September in Argentina in the beautiful setting of the Martindale Country club on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. The players were kindly hosted by members of the club and started their stay with a welcome cocktail party. Over three days of competition, the four participating teams – Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay – each played a match against one other in a round robin format. The level of competition was extremely high across the event and three of the six matches came down to the deciding mixed doubles tiebreak, creating a great atmosphere for the players and fans alike! Argentina emerged triumphant after a close battle with Chile and will participate at the worldwide final.

The next regional followed soon after in Europe, hosted in the town of Zaragoza by the IC of Spain. The European competition is the largest of the regionals with a total of eight teams from seven countries participating – Croatia, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and two teams from hosts Spain. The teams were split into two groups of four teams and spent three days playing a round robin. On the fourth day each team played off against the team of the same position in the opposing group to determine the final standings. Alongside the tennis the players were treated to dinner at a local restaurant, a closing dinner at the club, a sightseeing tour of Zaragoza and helped to run a philanthropy tennis clinic. After fighting off Spain 4-3 to top their box, Italy beat Great Britain in the final to win the regional. They will progress to the worldwide finals, and Spain will also have a spot as the host nation.

In November, the North American regional took place with first time hosts Barbados putting together a wonderful sequence of events for the players from Barbados, Canada, Mexico and the USA. Over three days of play the teams each played one another in a round robin event at the scenic Barbados Yacht Club, right on the beach! Despite frequent rain delays, the event progressed smoothly with Mexico defeating the USA in an electric mixed doubled shoot out to win qualification to the worldwide finals. Off court – in addition to enjoying the beachside location, players enjoyed a BBQ and participating in a philanthropy session with children from a local orphanage.

The final regional for Asia/Oceania was hosted in December by the IC of Singapore at the Winchester Tennis Centre. This regional featured only 3 teams – India, Japan and Singapore – so a round robin format was played where each team played each other over three days. On their days off the Indian and Japanese teams were taken on a sightseeing tour of the city by representatives from the IC of Singapore, and all teams had a welcome dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. Last year’s worldwide champions India were back with another strong team and won both their matches to qualify for the finals where they will have the chance to defend their title.

In previous editions of the IC Rod Laver Junior Challenge there has been a fifth regional for Africa. However, in light of many difficulties including logistics and the lack of IC member countries in Africa, a decision was made not to hold an Africa regional this year. To ensure continued representation from Africa in the worldwide final, South Africa will be bringing a team selected from their U16 national’s competition. Over time we hope to work out a solution that allows a full Africa regional to be held again.

Full tournament reports and scorecards for the four regionals are available here.

2025 Finals

Now the regionals are complete, all eyes are turning to the 2025 Worldwide Final, which will take place on the historic courts of the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona and Real Club de Tenis Barcelona in Spain. The event will be held from the 26th – 30th July 2025 and the IC committee and IC of Spain are busy finalising preparations for the event. As well as battling on the court for the trophies, the six teams will be able to enjoy a full programme of events including exploring the city of Barcelona, and bonding with each other over local food. We are very grateful to the IC of Spain for their hard work creating a memorable event for the players and look forward to sharing daily reports of the event on social media and the IC website when it all starts!

Participating ICs
Argentina
Italy
Mexico
India
South Africa
Spain (hosts)

Full Results

South America
Winners: Argentina
Runners up: Chile
3rd place: Brazil
4th place: Uruguay

Europe
Winners: Italy
Runners up: Great Britain
3rd place: Spain I
4th place: Slovenia
5th place: Norway
6th place: Spain II
7th place: Luxembourg
8th place: Croatia

North America
Winners: Mexico
Runners up: USA
3rd place: Canada
4th place: Barbados

Asia/Oceania
Winners: India
Runners up: Japan
3rd place: Singapore

Abe Segal

My Friend Abe. by Gordon Forbes.

Abe died in Cape Town on the night of 4th April 2016, with his devoted friend, Deborah Curtis Setchell, at his bedside.  Abe and I met 63 years ago in the locker-room of the Ellis Park tennis courts, when he came over to my corner and chided me for being too quiet.  ’Don’t they make noise on that farm of yours, Kid?’  I was 19 and he 22, and we have been friends and doubles partners ever since.  There’ll never be another Abe. They talk of breaking the mould, well, his mould was well and truly broken!  Such a good man.  Generous, forthright, strong, big-hearted, loyal, compassionate – a rough diamond, with the diamond part flawless, and the rough part filled with the unique kind of humour that made his friends laugh in amazement, while at the same time shaking their heads at the fun of it! 

 
Only a few weeks ago, on a still evening in Plettenberg Bay, we sat together, looking at the sea, yakking away, and sipping the whiskies that Tony Bloom had poured for us.  Lately, we’ve talked nearly every week, being able to say the same things more than once, because we both forgot what we said the week before.  Suddenly, though, this time, towards the end of the evening, he touched his glass to mine and said, ‘Cheers, Forbsey.  We’ve had a great time, but the game’s over.  Thanks for everything.’   Maybe he had some kind of premonition, for I know he wasn’t feeling well....  But he never complained.  In all the time I have known Abe, I have never, ever, heard him complain. Not once.  And he was thanking me!  I ask you!  It was I who should have....
 
He was a great tennis-player, was Abe.  Look at his results over the years, and one is fully amazed!   For a start, he had one of the best left-hand serves of all time – fine volleys, safe backhand and a huge forehand that sometimes went off at a tangent and ran amuck.  I still remember the time at Roland Garros when he hit a forehand into the President’s Box without a bounce.  It hit one of the officials in the chest, while the base-linesman triumphantly called “Out”!  Or the time, on the Wimbledon Centre Court, playing Rex Hartwig, when Rex tried to run around his serve to hit a forehand. The ball simply followed him, until he had to catch it with his left hand, in front of his chest.  Abe’s serve used to swerve like mad, especially the second one.  And what about the lineswoman at Wimbledon who had too much wine for lunch and was asleep when Abe, playing Clark Graebner, won the match-point?  ‘Clark’s game is kinda boring, Forbsey,’ he told me.  ‘So I guess she’s entitled to take a nap.’  Odd things happened to Abe almost continually – things that never failed to amuse the millions of people all over the world that loved him.
 
For instance, suddenly, aged sixty-nine, he became a painter, surprising everyone (including himself) when his paintings were exhibited at The Everard Read Gallery.  Even here, Abe was unorthodox.  Always impatient, he’d invented a way of turning his canvasses upside down, so as to do his skies without disturbing the still wet scenery below.  Although, in my speech, I warned the Read Gallery patrons that the skies on the paintings were all upside down, they bought every last one.   ‘A sky’s a sky, Forbsey,’ was Abe’s comment.  ‘I’ve never seen one with a lable sayin’ “this side up.”     
 
Thus Abie. I could go on and on, and I am sure that I speak also for his daughters, Nancy and Susie, his wonderful wife, Heather, who died some years ago, and his friend, companion and helpmate, Deborah.  I can’t believe I’ll never hear his voice again.  Never again have him walk across the court to my side, cup his hand and say,  ‘for God’s sake, Forbsey, can you please stop bein’ nervous, grip your racket and watch the friggin’ ball!’  A part of my life, and, I am sure, a good many other lives, will go with Abe.  We wish him a good rest, and salute him for a game well played, and a life well lived.