Czechia, France claim junior tennis team titles in Cairo

CAIRO, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Czechia and France claimed the girls' and boys' titles, respectively, at the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors and Davis Cup Juniors Finals in Cairo on Sunday, with both championship ties decided in doubles.

Jana Kovackova of the Czech Republic competes against Sakino Miyazawa of Japan during the final match between the Czech Republic and Japan at Billie Jean King Cup Juniors in Cairo, Egypt, Nov. 8, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua)

In the girls' final, Czechia defeated Japan 2-1 after Jana Kovackova and Katerina Zajickova beat Sakino Miyazawa and Ran Wakana 6-1, 4-6, 11-9 in a deciding match tiebreak.

Zajickova had given Czechia the lead with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Japan's Yui Komada, before Miyazawa leveled the tie by defeating Kovackova 6-3, 6-1.

The victory gave Czechia its sixth title in the girls' competition and its first since 2021.

In the boys' final, France defeated Czechia 2-1, with Benoit Geldof and Pablo Pradat beating Tommy Luxa and Matyas Marsik 6-3, 6-2 in the decisive doubles match.

Geldof had put France ahead after recovering from a set down to beat Luxa 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, but Marsik kept Czechia's title hopes alive by defeating Pradat 2-6, 7-6, 7-5 to force the doubles decider.

France's victory marked its fifth Davis Cup Juniors title and its first since 2005.

In Saturday's semifinals, France defeated Japan 2-0 and Czechia beat Brazil 2-1 to reach the boys' final. In the girls' competition, Czechia overcame Great Britain 2-1, while Japan defeated Ukraine 2-0.

The tournament, held at Cairo's Smash Sporting Club from Nov. 2 to 8, brought together 16 national teams in each competition and marked the first time the under-16 world team finals had been staged in Africa.