Eight becomes four as AJO semis decided
Published Tue 15 Apr 2025
We are down to the final four following Tuesday’s quarter-finals at the 2025 Australian Junior Open at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre.
Check out our wrap of today’s action...
UNDER 19
The Girls U19 draw has seen the cream rise to the top as the top four seeds face off on day four.
Sarbani Maitra (QLD), Joanne Joseph (VIC), Hannah Slyth (WA) and Emmy Lamb (NSW) have won 24 and dropped just one game between them up to this point in the tournament, however that is all set to change with finals places on the line on Wednesday.
In the Boys event, Kiwi Oli Dunbar is looking to get over the hurdle he couldn’t clear last year when he was knocked out as top seed in the semi-finals. To do so he will need to overcome Jackson Wylie (NSW) who upset Haider Naqvi (VIC) on the glass court in three straight games.
Defending champion Thomas Scott’s (VIC) title defence remains on track however he needed to come back from dropping the third game today against Pakistan’s Muhammad Shamlan Gul in a spirited encounter.
Awaiting Scott is clubmate Kasper Cheung (NSW) who has won nine from nine games over the last three days.
Boys Semi-Finals
[1] Oliver Dunbar (NZL) v [5/8] Jackson Wylie (NSW)
[5/8] Kasper Cheung (NSW) v [2] Thomas Scott (NSW)
Girls Semi-Finals
[1] Sarbani Maitra (QLD) v [3/4] Emmy Lamb (NSW)
[3/4] Hannah Slyth (WA) v [2] Joanne Joseph (VIC)
UNDER 17
Western Australia’s Aiden Finley-Mulligan was a 17/32 seed at the 2024 Australian Junior Championships yet made it all the way to a third place finish and he will again contend at the business end of the tournament this week.
Finley-Mulligan took out a top eight seed in the round of 16 and today got over the top of fellow WA player and 3/4 seed Andreas Christou which has earned him a semi-final against Pakistan’s second seed Azan Ali Khan.
In the top half of the draw, an all-NSW semi will see number one seed Stanley Chung face-off with Henry Kross, with the pair taking vastly different roads to the final four. Chung needed to come from 1-2 down to beat Victoria’s Manaia Kara-Brown while Kross defeated Joel Raj (QLD) 3-0 in a far more straight-forward encounter than their five-game epic at the 2024 AJC.
Pakistan’s top seed Mehwish Ali continues to look strong in the Girls U17 draw however a titanic clash awaits on Wednesday. The defending champion will meet 2024 U15 Champion Tina Ma after the Victorian continued her perfect week with a 3-0 win late in the day on the glass court.
While the top half of the draw sees two 2024 AJO champions facing off, it is a pair of 2024 AJC champions going head-to-head in the bottom half. Eden-Alma Poulava (NSW) is a late call-up to the Australian Trans Tasman team next week, and she will now face Emilia Scott (NSW) who has stepped up to the U17s after beating Ma in the AJC decider seven months ago.
Boys Semi-Finals
[1] Stanley Chung (NSW) v [3/4] Henry Kross (NSW)
[9/16] Aiden Finlay-Mulligan (WA) v [2] Azan Ali Khan (PAK)
Girls Semi-Finals
[1] Mehwish Ali (PAK) v [3/4] Tina Ma (VIC)
[3/4] Emilia Scott (NSW) v [2] Eden-Alma Poulava (NSW)
UNDER 15
James Boswell (QLD) remains the top-ranked player in the Boys U15 draw and still has not dropped a game on the way to the semi-finals. On Wednesday he will face Thomas Wang who outlasted Max Jones an a five-game all-NSW quarter-final.
WA’s Alexander Marsh was also forced to the distance to overcome Elijah Rolls (VIC) and will now meet Kaveen Kohombange (NSW) who like Boswell, has not dropped a game over the opening three days.
While three of the top four seeds have made it through to the U15 Girls semis without dropping a game, Coffs Harbour’s Jaida Wigley (NSW) continues to confidently moving through the tournament. After taking out 3/4 seed Nadia van Zon (SA) in the opening round, Wigley accounted for another top eight seed today by defeating Victoria’s Mia Sundernathan in 16 minutes.
Boys Semi-Finals
[5/8] Alexander Marsh (WA) v [3/4] Kaveen Kohombange (NSW)
[9/16] Thomas Wang (NSW) v [2] James Boswell (QLD)
Girls Semi-Finals
[1] Emily Senior (JPN) v [9/16] Jaida Wigley (NSW)
[3/4] Olivia van Zon (SA) v [2] Sehrish Ali (PAK)
UNDER 13
The top four seeds in the Boys U13 draw will face off in the semi-finals.
Benjamin Boardman (NSW) needed four games to move through to progress where he will face his opponent from Pakistan. Victoria’s Aleister Loo was runner-up in the U11s last year and will need to take down the Chinese top need if is to once again appear in another AJO Final.
In the girls draw, Elizabeth Wang (NSW) overcame Abbey Boswell (QLD) to qualify for the semi-finals where she will meet 2024 runner-up Mahnoor Ali (PAK). The other semi-final will be full of smiles as Riyo Kawabata (QLD) meets Cleo Poulava (NSW).
Boys Semi-Finals
[1] Yuanxi Liu (CHN) v [3/4] Aleister Loo (VIC)
[3/4] Muhammad Faizan Ali Khan (PAK) v [2] Benjamin Boardman (NSW)
Girls Semi-Finals
[1] Mahnoor Ali (PAK) v [5/8] Elizabeth Wang (NSW)
[3/4] Riyo Kawabata (QLD) v [2] Cleo Poulava (NSW)
UNDER 11
The top two seeds in the Boys U11s remain on track to meet in the final with China’s En Ze Guo and Pakistan’s Ahmad Ali Naz continuing to show good form.
Nathan Lin (NSW) will take on Khan after he ousted New Caledonia’s last-standing player in any AJO draw, while Freddie Goldsmith is one of just four Victorians to make it to the semis on home soil.
In the U11 Girls, Malaysia's Iszea Amani Ishak remains the only undefeated player in the round robin competition after defeating Sydney's Ruisha Chu today. Chu and Queensland's Aime Lacquiere both have two wins from their opening three matches.
Boys Semi-Finals
[1] En Ze Guo (CHN) v [3/4] Freddie Goldsmith (VIC)
[3/4] Nathan Lin (NSW) v [2] Ahmad Ali Naz (PAK)
Girls Semi-Finals Round Robin - Day 4 of 5
Miranda Clarke (WA) v Ruisha Chu (NSW)
Hannah Leung (QLD) v Aime Lacquiere (QLD)
Iszea Amani Ishak (MAS) v Kayla Goonewardena (VIC)
