Renee Alame, Koharu Nishikawa and Jizelle Sibai, and Ymerali Ibraimi, Nikolas Baker and Jeffrey Strydom, will represent Australia in Junior Billie Jean King Cup and Junior Davis Cup respectively in Kazakhstan next week.
Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 9 May 2025 | Camille Russo
Six top Australian junior tennis players will represent the country at the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup Juniors presented by Gainbridge Asia-Oceania Final Qualifying events from 12-24 May in Kazakhstan.
The prestigious international tournament is the pinnacle of team competition for tennis players aged 16 and under. Teams will vie for a coveted place in the finals, to be held in Santiago, Chile in November.
Each team features a blend of fresh faces and returning talent in 2025 – Renee Alame (16, NSW), Koharu Nishikawa (16, Vic) and Jizelle Sibai (15, NSW) will contest the Junior Billie Jean King Cup from Monday while Ymerali Ibraimi (16, Vic), Nikolas Baker (15, Qld) and Jeffrey Strydom (16, SA) will line up in the Junior Davis Cup.
Alame will return to the Junior Billie Jean King Cup team for a second consecutive year, after helping Australia qualify for the 2024 finals. Nishikawa also returns to the team for the second time after impressing last year. They are joined by first-time representative Sibai, who has performed consistently well at Australian tournaments.
David Moore, long-time Tennis Australia Talent National Development Coach, will lead the 2025 girls’ team.
“It’s a really exciting team,” Moore shared. “Renee and Koharu bring valuable experience from the finals last year, and it’s great to see a new face in Jizelle who has really earnt her spot in this team.
“They’ve shown they can compete under pressure, and I think they’ll thrive in the team environment.”
In the boys’ competition, Strydom returns to national representation after making his debut last year. He will be joined by newcomers Ibraimi, who recently advanced to the second round in his first appearance in the Junior Boys’ Singles competition at the Australian Open, and Baker, who has been steadily climbing the rankings over the past 12 months.
“We’re excited to see what this group can achieve,” said Paul Vassallo, who is captaining the Junior Davis Cup team for the first time. “They’ve worked hard to earn this opportunity and are determined to do Australia proud.”
The Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup Junior events serve as a launching pad for future stars. Past champions include Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt, Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff.Australia boasts a rich history across both events, winning the Junior Davis Cup title six times, and the Junior Billie Jean King Cup, formerly Junior Fed Cup, five times.
The most recent success in the Junior Billie Jean King Cup came in 2011 when Ash Barty, Belinda Woolcock and Brooke Rischbieth led the team to a win over Canada. For the Junior Davis Cup, Luke Saville, Jason Kubler and Joey Swaysland were crowned champions in 2009 when they defeated Great Britain.
The finals from 3-9 November across two venues in Chile, Santiago will bring together 16 boys’ and 16 girls’ teams from around the world. The competition begins with four round-robin groups of four teams, with the top teams progressing to a knockout stage that crowns the world champions.
/GENERAL%20CROP%20(61).webp?ssl=1 "Cadillac boss Graeme Lowdon on the team’s preparation ahead of 2026 debut and their ‘first target’")
