ITF

ITFWorld // WINTER 2019/20 09 FRANCE'S DIANE PARRY HEADS INTO THE NEW SEASON ON THE BACK OF A BLISTERING END TO THE 2019 CAMPAIGN WHICH SAW HER TOP the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings presented by IMG Academy. The 17-year-old climbed to the rankings summit following a stunning victory at JA Osaka – the second Grade A title of her career – in October where she conquered all without dropping a set. This was followed by her triumph at the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu, which solidified her position as the highest-ranked girl in world tennis. She was the only player to remain undefeated at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre in Chengdu and ruthlessly dispatched Ukraine's Daria Snigur in a one-sided final. Had Snigur won, she would have assumed the Junior World No. 1 spot but, on the day, had little answer to the brilliance of Parry, who extended her winning streak to 11 matches. Parry became the second successive French girl after Clara Burel to claim victory at the ITF Junior Finals. Following in the footsteps of Burel once more, she is also the second French player in as many years to be named girls' ITF World Champion. Away from those successes, Parry also triumphed at J1 Criciuma in February and reached the semi-finals at J1 Roehampton in July where she succumbed to Snigur. Her best Junior Grand Slam showing during 2019 came at Wimbledon as she progressed to the semi-finals before bowing out in straight sets at the hands of American Alexa Noel. The previous campaign was also notable for Parry, as a wild card entry, progressing to the second round in the main draw at Roland Garros after beating Vera Lapko of Belarus. Belgium's Elise Mertens was her opponent in the second round and while Parry claimed just four games in the straight-sets defeat, the experience of playing such esteemed company on the clay of Paris is likely to prove invaluable. Success on the south coast was merely a sign of things to come, with a maiden Grand Slam victory, which the pair later described as "life changing", just around the corner. Cabal and Farah became the first Colombians to seal a Grand Slam men's doubles title as they triumphed at Wimbledon, defeating Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in a five-set thriller of a final. Victory at the All England Club propelled the duo to joint No.1 in the world rankings but the party was far from over. The Cabal-Farah axis was to flex its muscle once more on the biggest stage, securing back-to-back Grand Slam crowns by conquering all at the US Open in September. Cabal and Farah dropped just a solitary set during their title charge and duly dispatched Spain's Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina in the final. Their stellar season, which also yielded wins in two of the three Davis Cup ties they contested, resulted in Cabal and Farah becoming the second all-South American team to finish as year-end No.1s since the inception of the rankings. Cabal and Farah, aged 33 and 32 respectively, followed in the footsteps Chile's Hans Gildemeister and Andres Gomez of Ecuador, who achieved the feat in 1986. ➝ Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah Cabal and Farah triumphed at Wimbledon in July Diane Parry Parry is the second successive French player to be named girls' ITF World Champion

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