The next few days on home soil look very different for Great Britain’s two standout performers at the US Open. As the men’s singles semi-finalist Jack Draper prepares to represent his country in the Davis Cup in Manchester, the girls’ singles champion Mika Stojsavljevic will be back at school working towards her GCSE exams.
Stojsavljevic has made a name for herself in the tennis world as one to watch after her success at Flushing Meadows. The 15-year-old arrived here at a world junior ranking of No 33 — a respectable position for someone of her age in the 18-and-under circuit — and leaves as the youngest winner of this event since Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as a 15-year-old in 2006.
There is little time for any celebrations, though. On Tuesday morning Stojsavljevic will be back down to earth in the classroom of Loughborough Amherst School as part of her dual schedule combining school and tennis at the LTA’s National Academy.
“I’m flying back on Sunday and then going back to school,” Stojsavljevic said. “I have my GCSEs this year and obviously it’s important to get those done. We’ll see after that.
“The treatment from my classmates probably might be a little bit different. In our set-up, it’s only tennis players in our classroom. The academy has made these really small classrooms to make sure it’s just focused on us, so I think it will be a little bit easier just being with tennis people. But around school it might be a little bit different.”
There are also important discussions to be held between Stojsavljevic, her family and academy coaches as to how her tournament schedule may change after her breakthrough victory here. Her schoolwork must not only be balanced with junior competitions but her success is likely to result in more wild-card opportunities for professional events on the lower tiers.
At a professional ranking of No 641, Stojsavljevic is the second-highest player in the world under the age of 16 — another 15-year-old Briton, Hannah Klugman, is ahead at No 518. Strict age-eligibility rules deem that she can play a maximum of only 12 professional tournaments in the 2025 season, so her schedule has to be cleverly put together to give her the best chance of working her way up the rankings.
“I’m sure everyone back at the Loughborough academy will try their best to make the schedule as good as they can for me, but I obviously still have to attend a lot of school,” Stojsavljevic said. “This is an important year for me. But I’m sure they will mix a lot of senior stuff as well as still some juniors.”
Junior grand-slam victories always come with a caveat attached that there is no guarantee of success on the professional tour. A mere look at Britain’s three previous junior US Open champions perfectly encapsulates the varying routes that they can follow: the 2004 winner Andy Murray became a three-times grand-slam champion and world No 1; the 2009 winner Heather Watson had a solid but not spectacular career with a top ranking of No 38; while the 2011 winner Oliver Golding retired in 2017 having gone no higher than No 327.
With this in mind, Stojsavljevic is aware that competing on the tour will not suddenly become a life of luxury after her achievement in New York. The transition from the junior to the professional ranks can be long and arduous, with plenty of pitfalls to avoid.
“I think being away from home is probably one of the toughest challenges, but I have lived that for the past two years,” Stojsavljevic said. “I think I have come to terms with that. Not having your family is difficult, but it also makes you stronger. It’s obviously tough, but it’s also part of the job.”
As Stojsavljevic swaps her racket for a calculator and a pencil, Draper is expected to be back on the practice court in the next day or two. The 22-year-old was adamant in the aftermath of his gruelling semi-final defeat by Jannik Sinner, the world No 1 from Italy, on Friday that he was still eager to play as the British No 1 in this week’s group stages of the Davis Cup finals. One likely scenario in the round-robin format is that he skips Wednesday’s tie against Finland before playing against Argentina on Friday and Canada on Sunday.
“We will just have to see how he recovers and how he feels,” Leon Smith, the British captain, said. “Obviously we would be absolutely delighted if he is here and ready to go. He is the strongest singles player on the team and a top-20 player in great form. He is someone who loves the competition and was absolutely brilliant when he came into the team last year.
“We would love to have him here but at the same time you have to respect what has just happened. He comes in here high on confidence but he is going to be feeling the effects of a tough summer as well. Level-wise, he can go out and compete against absolutely anyone in world tennis now.”
British tennis lived through an emotional few weeks after Andy Murray called time on his career at the 2024 Olympic Games, but new stars are emerging and Mika Stojsavljevic is the latest to announce her arrival.
The 15-year-old Londoner beat Wakana Sonobe 6-4, 6-4 to become the first Briton to win the girls’ tournament at the US Open since Heather Watson in 2009, after what was a hugely impressive week for British juniors in New York.
Stojsavljevic followed up her impressive semi-final display, where she ousted Iva Jovic – the 16-year-old American who made it to the second round of the main women’s draw – with another assured performance.
It came 24 hours after Jack Draper’s semi-final defeat in the men’s draw and shows the future of British tennis is looking bright.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” the unseeded Stojsavljevic told Sky Sports Tennis. “I’m grateful to my coaches this week and for my family supporting me from back home.
“When I was serving for it I knew I just had to trust myself and treat it like any other game so I think I did that quite well.
“I love fighting. I think it’s so fun to compete and to play every match – I really enjoy it. And obviously when you win it’s such a great feeling.”
Stojsavljevic will head back home with the biggest title of her career now on her CV and she will be straight back to her studies as she tries to come back down to earth after her heroics in New York.
She is back to school straight away at Loughborough Amhurst School, which is tied to the LTA National Academy, and is praying she avoids a maths lesson on her first day back.
“I’m going back to school on Tuesday. I’m flying back on Sunday and then going back to school,” she said.
“I have my GCSEs this year, and obviously it’s important to get those done. We’ll see after that.
“I hate maths! I haven’t got my timetable yet, but I’m sure it will be pretty intense. It probably might be a little bit different for me.
“In our set-up, it’s only tennis players in our classroom. They have made these really small classrooms to make sure it’s just focused on us.
“So I think it will be a little bit easier just being with tennis people, but around school it might be a little bit different.”
Stojsavljevic’s doubles partner Mimi Xu from Wales also impressed at the US Open junior event as she reached the semi-finals, while Scotland’s Charlie Robertson made it through the semi-finals in the Boys’ event.
The British junior scene is thriving right now, with teenager Hannah Klugman ranked in the top 10 of the ITF’s Junior rankings, along with Xu.
LTA Women’s National Coach Katie O’Brien is overseeing the development of the impressive crop of British players, with the World Tennis Tour an important stepping stone for the next chapters of their careers.
“We have really good depth of talent amongst our junior girls,” former British No 1 O’Brien told the LTA website.
“Our girls all get along so well and it feels like they are driving each other on, while also inspiring the generation just behind them.
“It helps that they are developing as a pack. There is not a single stand-out player as they are all very good, so they will drive each other on and progress together.
“These players are still very much at a developmental stage, but they are progressing quickly as they have played in some high profile and also have Junior Grand Slam experience.
“Our domestic competitions calendar and the ITF tournaments we have in Britain now are so important as we have been able to give our players a chance to test themselves against some of the best players in the world, which has helped to ensure our junior game is in a healthy state.”
