American Kaylan Bigun wins French Open junior boys' title. Czech Tereza Valentova wins girls' final
Kaylan Bigun of the U.S. plays a shot against Poland's Tomasz Berkieta in the junior men's final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Saturday, June 8, 2024. Credit: AP/Aurelien Morissard
PARIS — American Kaylan Bigun and Czech Tereza Valentova won the French Open junior boys' and girls' titles on Saturday.
The fifth-seeded Bigun, who is 18 and was born in Los Angeles, rallied to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the final against unseeded 17-year-old Tomasz Berkieta of Poland for his first Grand Slam title in juniors.
The 12th-seeded Valentova beat No. 3-seeded Laura Samson 6-3, 7-6 (0) in the first all-Czech junior singles Grand Slam final. It was her first major title in juniors, having lost in the U.S. Open final last year.
The 17-year-old Valentova is one year older than Samson.
Bigun hopes to carry on his good form on clay when he eventually plays on the ATP men's tour.
“I don’t think Americans have been known to specialize in the red clay,” he said. “Obviously I want to win at the highest level on clay, and until I do that I’ll say I’m a junior clay court specialist, for sure.”
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