Next Gen SoCal: Junior Standouts Break
Ground at Roland Garros

As the world’s best took to the red clay at Roland Garros, a standout group of Southern California juniors stepped confidently into the spotlight, turning heads and making history on one of tennis’s grandest stages. From wheelchair champions to rising WTA contenders and standout junior performers, SoCal’s young talent showcased grit, flair, and world-class potential in Paris. Their performances weren’t just impressive, they signaled a bold new chapter for the region’s next generation of stars.

At just 17 years old, Charlie Cooper is making his mark on the global tennis stage, and he’s doing it in historic fashion.

The La Quinta native delivered a breakthrough performance on the clay courts of Roland Garros, capturing his second junior wheelchair Grand Slam doubles title of the year and firmly establishing himself as one of the sport’s rising stars.

Teaming up with Austria’s Maximilian Taucher, Cooper clinched the boys’ junior wheelchair doubles title at the 2025 French Open with a commanding 6-4, 6-0 win over Brazil’s Luiz Calixto and Germany’s Alexander Lantermann. The pair displayed incredible chemistry and fearless shot-making, dominating one of the sport’s premier events with confidence and flair.

Remarkably, Cooper’s win came against Calixto, the very partner he teamed up with to win the Australian Open doubles title in January, making Cooper’s Roland Garros victory not only a Grand Slam repeat, but also a full-circle moment on tennis’s biggest stage.

But Cooper wasn’t done. In the boys’ wheelchair singles draw, he advanced to the final, where he once again faced Taucher, this time as an opponent. In a tightly contested battle that went down to a tiebreak, Cooper came up just short, finishing as runner-up in an emotional and hard-fought match.

Still, with two Grand Slam doubles titles and a singles final appearance in just six months, Cooper’s 2025 season is nothing short of extraordinary.

“Roland Garros was wild in the best way,” explained Cooper. “Making both finals was definitely a grind, but I learned a lot about myself and my game. The clay is tough, but I started to really enjoy the challenge. Compared to the US Open last year, I felt more confident and like I belonged out there.” 

While there is currently no junior wheelchair competition at Wimbledon, Cooper hopes to qualify for the professional division next year. Up next: Canada in July, followed by exhibition tournaments at the Cincinnati Open and the USTA Boys’ Nationals in Kalamazoo, before setting his sights on the US Open.

“I’m just staying focused, building off this momentum, and gearing up for the US Open,” explained Cooper. “Nothing beats playing in front of the home crowd and I’m excited to go even bigger this time.”

As a proud member of Team SoCal, Cooper’s achievements serve as a beacon of inspiration for the next generation of wheelchair tennis athletes in Southern California and beyond. His journey from local courts to the global stage is a testament to his talent, work ethic, and unshakable love for the game.

The future is unmistakably bright for Charlie Cooper, and all of SoCal tennis is behind him as he continues his incredible rise.

Also stepping into the international spotlight is 16-year-old Julieta Pareja, the rising star from Carlsbad who made history last summer as the youngest singles champion in SoCal Pro Series history. This year, she stunned the tennis world in Bogotá by becoming the youngest WTA semifinalist since Coco Gauff’s breakout in 2019, winning five consecutive matches after receiving a wild card into the qualifying draw of the WTA 250 event. Pareja also etched her name in the record books as the first player born in 2009 to compete in a WTA main draw.

Pareja’s ascent continues off the court as well, she recently became the first female American to join the On roster of sponsored athletes, aligning with a powerhouse brand that also backs Joao Fonseca, Ben Shelton, and Iga Swiatek.

“I’m really happy to be an On athlete,” Pareja told Tennis.com. “It’s a unique experience to be part of a select group of athletes that represent innovation, high performance, simplicity, all while keeping sustainability in mind. I couldn’t be more excited to start this journey.”

Currently ranked No. 322 in the WTA and No. 7 in the ITF world junior rankings, Pareja reached the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles at Roland Garros. Just the week before, she was a singles finalist at the prestigious J500 in Milan, notching wins over eventual Roland Garros junior champion Lilli Tagger and runner-up Hannah Klugman, a clear sign she’s one to watch.

Representing Torrance, 17-year-old Keaton Hance made a strong impression in just his second-ever Grand Slam singles appearance, and his debut at Roland Garros. After competing in his first major at last summer’s US Open, the future University of Texas Longhorn showcased his resilience on the Paris clay, rallying from a set down to defeat William Rejchtman 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the opening round. Though he fell in the next round to Germany’s Niels McDonald, Hance and his doubles partner Jack Kennedy of New York, seeded No. 3, advanced to the semifinals before being edged out by the No. 2 seeds Oskari Paldanius from Finland and Alan Wazny of Poland.

Another Southern California native making waves in Paris was Jagger Leach, 17, of Newport Beach. Fresh off a dominant sweep at the FILA International Junior Championships earlier this spring at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Leach entered the French Open boys’ singles as the No. 5 seed. He took down Kazakhstan’s Zangar Nurlanuly 6-1, 1-6, 6-0, and Chinese Taipei’s Kuan-Shou Chen 7-5, 6-3, before falling to Bulgaria’s Ivan Ivanov in the third round.

In doubles, Leach teamed up with Great Britain’s Oliver Bonding, and the No. 8 seeds made a thrilling run to the semifinals before narrowly losing to the all-American team of Noah Johnston from South Carolina and Florida’s Benjamin Willwerth in a third-set tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-2, [7-10].

Thea Frodin of Woodland Hills proudly represented SoCal in the girls’ singles and doubles. Though she was edged out in the singles first round by Cindy Langlais, Frodin partnered with Bulgaria’s Yoana Konstantinova in doubles, taking the No. 6 seeds from the Czech Republic to a deciding tiebreak before falling 6-3, 3-6, [10-12].

Meanwhile, Torrance native Iva Jovic, 17, continues her seamless transition from junior standout to rising professional. Her breakout junior season included a quarterfinal finish in singles and a runner-up showing in doubles with Tyra Caterina Grant at the 2024 Roland Garros, followed by a singles semifinal run at junior Wimbledon and junior doubles titles at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon alongside Grant.

Jovic’s success on the junior circuit paved the way for a strong professional debut. After winning the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships, she earned a wild card into the 2024 US Open, where she competed in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. She later closed out her junior career with a singles semifinal finish at her home Slam in New York.

Continuing her momentum, Jovic qualified for the 2025 Australian Open main draw through another standout performance in the USTA’s Wild Card Challenge, securing her first win at Melbourne Park.

At this year’s Roland Garros, Jovic once again rose to the occasion, this time earning her main draw spot by winning the USTA’s Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge. She defeated Renata Zarazúa in the opening round before falling to world No. 4 and 12th seed Elena Rybakina, the second consecutive major in which Jovic faced the Grand Slam champion. Currently at a career-high WTA ranking of No. 115, Jovic has her sights set on cracking the Top 100 by season’s end.

From red clay battles in Paris to breakthrough wins on the pro circuit, Southern California juniors continue to rise to the occasion on the international stage. With fierce determination and undeniable talent, this next generation is proving that SoCal tennis is a force to be reckoned with, now and for years to come.