Roland Garros 2025: Britain’s Hannah Klugman reaches girls’ singles final
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16-year-old British star Hannah Klugman is through to the final of the Roland Garros girls’ singles after an impressive comeback win over Rositsa Dencheva.
Eighth seed Klugman defeated the 18-year-old Bulgarian 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 39 minutes to seal a place in her first junior Grand Slam final.
From 3-3 in the final set, Klugman showed her quality to seal back-to-back breaks when she needed them most to go on and complete her breakthrough victory on Court 10.
“It was a really tough start, she was playing so well and with it being my first semis,” Klugman said after her match. “I found it tough to get into the match but once I did that I was in a good space.
“I’m a bit shocked to be honest, I don’t really know what happened at the end!”
She’s the first British girl to reach the final at Roland Garros since Michele Tyler in 1976.
Two British girls have now made Grand Slam singles finals in the last three events, after Mika Stojsavljevic won the US Open title last year.
Klugman will face Austria’s Lilli Tagger in the final, after the 17-year-old knocked out top seed Emerson Jones in the semi-final.
“It’s different (on clay), every point is a grind, and you’ve got to be ready for that. Me and my coach decided to do two months on clay to get my tennis better, get my mentality better and now it’s the end of the clay court season and I’m doing pretty well.
“Mentally I think I’ve been very good this week – staying calm in those big moments and also just trying to take it in and enjoy it.
“We (Klugman and Tagger) had a tough match a few weeks ago in a $25k – it’s going to be a tough one but I’m excited though.”
The young Brit from Surrey is supported by the LTA Pro Scholarship Programme, presented by Lexus – the highest level of support offered to developing players between the ages of 16 and 24 with the best chance of reaching the ATP/WTA top 100 singles.
A former Lexus Junior National Championships winner, champion of the 2023 Orange Bowl in Florida and two-time Grand Slam girls’ doubles runner-up as well, a title in Roland Garros would be another incredible achievement for the British teenager.
Klugman has been working alongside current coach Ben Haran since she was nine years old and has gone on to reach a career-high junior ranking of No.6 in the world.
It was her coach who recently introduced her to British No.1 Jack Draper to offer up some words of wisdom on taking the step to the next level.
“I struggled a little bit results wise,” she said. “I was working really hard and I felt like I was getting better, but I wasn’t seeing results.
“My coach knows Jack quite well so he set up a lunch for me and I think he opened my perspective to the fact that everyone goes through troubles – you don’t realise it but they do. It’s taking a step back, taking your time and realising it will get there.
“His main thing is consistency – every day working hard with the right mentality. Things will come, it’s a matter of time.”
Elsewhere, fellow British junior Oliver Bonding lost out in a close boys’ doubles semi-final alongside American partner Jagger Leach.
Bonding and Leach bowed out to American seventh seeds Noah Johnston and Benjamin Willwerth 6-4, 2-6, 10-7.
