Caroline Fouts and Lucie Stefanoni placed second and third, respectively, capping off a successful tournament for Team USA, July 20-24, in Nottingham, England.
The BJO, which traditionally fields the strongest age division junior draws in the world, returned for the first time since 2020, and this year only fielded the U19 draws following the event’s postponement from its traditional January staging.
The twelve-player U.S. contingent enjoyed a successful start to the tournament with numerous upsets and producing four quarterfinalists in the first two days of play–a first for Team USA at the BJO.
Fouts and Stefanoni entered their maiden U19 BJO draw as the top two seeds, respectively, and progressed to the semifinals with two, 3-0 wins on both sides of the draw.
Fouts became the first American to reach a U19 BJO final since Amanda Sobhy in 2011, dispatching 3/4 seed and 2021 U.S. Junior Open U17 champion Asia Harris 12-10, 11-9, 11-13, 13-11 in a forty-nine-minute semifinal.
Stefanoni exited the main draw at the hands of 3/4 seed Torrie Malik 13-11, 11-8, 11-9 in twenty-eight minutes. Stefanoni finished her tournament on a high, defeating Harris in the third-place playoff.
In the final, Fouts found herself 2-0 down in games, but mounted a comeback to win the third and fourth games to force a title-deciding fifth game. But it was the English international who earned the title on home soil, clinching the match 11-2 in the fifth after forty-four minutes.
For match replays, images and more tournament coverage visit britishjunioropen.com.