Two consecutive international World Tennis Tour Juniors J30 Regata Trophy weeks have concluded on the courts of the National Tennis Centre of Moldova. The finals of the second tournament were played on 18 July, bringing an intense series to a close after it had brought together young tennis players from Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Israel, France, Cyprus, Malta and other countries in Chișinău.
The two tournaments were held back to back, but under different systems. The opening week gave the Moldovan Tennis Federation its first experience of organising a J30 event under the new Round Robin to Elimination format, introduced by World Tennis at selected J30 and J60 tournaments in 2026. The players first competed in groups, after which the group winners continued in a knockout draw. The second tournament was played under the traditional single-elimination system, with defeat bringing a player’s participation in the relevant event to an end.
The main advantage of the experimental format is clear from the players’ perspective. In a traditional draw, a junior may travel a long distance to a tournament, lose the opening match and return home almost immediately. The group system guarantees every participant several matches against strong opponents and allows players to earn ranking points for victories even before the knockout stage begins. For young players, who above all need competitive match practice, this model significantly increases the value of every trip. In 2026, World Tennis is using both formats in order to evaluate the new system under real tournament conditions and gather experience from events held in different countries.
Ana Maria Popa Lazar
For the organisers, however, the innovation proved to be a serious challenge. The number of matches increased sharply during the opening days, daily scheduling became more complicated, and the extended programme of the first week began to overlap with preparations for the second tournament. Some players who were still competing required special exempt places in order to move from one event to the next. As tournament referee Oleg Ivasko noted, such practical difficulties and feedback from officials are particularly important during the early stages of the new system: specialists set out to improve the competition format and inevitably discovered that problems would arise.
Despite all the organisational challenges, the opening week was highly successful for the host nation. Ramina Hîncu won the girls’ singles tournament, claiming the first World Tennis Tour Juniors title of her career. In the doubles event, two more representatives of Moldova, Natalia Drobco and Eva Iurina, became champions. Moldovan players therefore captured both titles in the girls’ competition at the first J30 Regata Trophy.
Marina Levadnaia
The host nation’s results were more modest during the second week, although Moldovan players again took part in important matches. Ramina Hîncu reached the singles quarter-finals, where she won the opening set before losing to eventual champion Ana Maria Popa Lazar of Romania, 7-5, 3-6, 1-6. Natalia Drobco, partnering the Czech Republic’s Renata Janovičová, reached the doubles semi-finals. They were stopped by Ukrainians Uliana Petruk and Oleksandra Shraider, 6-2, 3-6, 10-5.
Ana Maria Popa Lazar won the girls’ singles title at the second tournament. In the final, the Romanian defeated Ukraine’s Maryna Levadna 6-3, 6-2. In the boys’ final, Romania’s Rareș Saracin proved stronger than Slovakia’s Samuel Sýkora, winning 6-2, 7-5.
Rareș Saracin
In the girls’ doubles event, the title was won by Ukrainians Ariana Bahbaia and Maryna Levadna, who defeated their compatriots Uliana Petruk and Oleksandra Shraider 6-2, 7-5 in the final. In the boys’ competition, Luca Daraban of Romania and Yehor Romaniuta of Ukraine became champions. In the deciding match, they defeated Malta’s Evan Galea and Spain’s Marc Schulz Barrera in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6.
Yet the two weeks of the Regata Trophy were memorable for more than results alone. Despite the intense competition and international ranking points at stake, a remarkably friendly atmosphere remained among the participants. Before one match, two future opponents stood calmly talking at the net while waiting for the chair umpire, and one offered the other a bottle of cold water. A few minutes later, they were already fighting for every ball. This is perhaps one of the most important aspects of junior sport: fierce competition on the court can comfortably coexist with respect and normal human relations away from it.
Samuel Sikora
“The first tournament was held under the round-robin system for the first time. It is convenient and interesting for the players, although considerably more difficult for the organisers. The athletes are guaranteed three matches and receive ranking points for every victory in their group, which is very important for their development. The opening week was successful for us thanks to the victories of Ramina Hîncu, Natalia Drobco and Eva Iurina. The field in the second tournament, particularly in the boys’ event, was very strong, which made it more difficult for the Moldovan players to progress deep into the draw,” the tournament referee noted.
The World Tennis Tour Juniors brings together players under the age of 18 and includes around 980 tournaments in 130 countries. J30 events represent the first international level of this system. It is here that many juniors earn their first ranking points and learn how to cope with travel, demanding schedules and the pressure of official matches.
For Moldovan players, hosting two such tournaments at home provides an opportunity to gain international experience without constant and costly travel abroad. For the National Tennis Centre, it was another test of its ability to stage extended competitions with large numbers of participants and matches. And for the Moldovan Tennis Federation, it provided important experience of working with two formats at once, one of which may significantly reshape the lower levels of the global junior tour in the coming years.
The two weeks of the J30 Regata Trophy have come to an end. What remains are ranking points, new acquaintances, dozens of matches played and experience that is often more valuable to a young tennis player than a single good result. Because tournaments like these are precisely where the transition from children’s competitions to genuine international tennis begins.
Rareș Saracin, Ana Maria Popa Lazar ❤️
