Wimbledon boys' champ Ivanov, 16, wins US Open, Nadal applauds

  • Posted: Sep 06, 2025

Ivan Ivanov won his second consecutive major title by defeating fellow Bulgarian Alexander Vasilev 7-5, 6-3 in the US Open final Saturday.

“I played great, and our thoughts came through. We met Alexander in the final,” Ivanov said. “[It was a] full Bulgarian final and full Bulgarian crowd. I’m very happy that this happened, and I’m very happy that I took success today.”

The 16-year-old converted five of his nine break points and hit 19 winners to surge to victory in 74 minutes. The top seed saved two of the four break points he faced against his fifth-seeded opponent.

“He came back. He started putting more pressure on me, and I really felt it,” Ivanov said. “I tried to escape, and I tried to make those moments come as short as possible, which I’m very happy [about] today, because I managed to do it very short. And at 5-All, I managed to break back and then take my serve. So I’m very happy with that.”

It All Adds Up

Ivanov became the third boy this century to win Wimbledon and the US Open in the same season, joining countryman Grigor Dimitrov and Filip Peliwo. It was a special end to his major campaign, in which he climbed to No. 1 in the ITF Junior Rankings.

“I mean, look at the city. We’re in an enormous city, in such a big stadium sometimes,” Ivanov said. “The crowd, the people, the organisation, it’s everything that makes that tournament special.”

The 16-year-old trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar and received congratulations from Nadal himself Saturday. 

“Congratulations Ivan on winning @Wimbledon & @usopen Junior 🏆!” Nadal posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Congrats also to all the @rnadalacademy team! 👏🏻👏🏻”

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Source link