Former Australian Open junior champion, now after eight years finally reaches the main draw of a Grand Slam event

It is widely recognized that Grand Slam events are the pinnacle of tennis competition. Consequently, a junior player who claims a Grand Slam junior championship usually attracts significant attention from fans, who instinctively consider them potential future stars. Yet, just days ago, one player needed eight years to transition from Australian Open junior champion to playing in his first Grand Slam main draw. So, who exactly is this player? Today, this article will take you through his story.

This player is Hungarian athlete Piros. In January 2017, he won six consecutive matches at the Australian Open junior event to claim his first Grand Slam junior title. It is worth noting that Chinese male tennis player Wu Yibing also participated in this tournament and even reached the semifinals, marking the best performance by a Chinese male player in the Australian Open junior event. That same year, Piros also won the boys’ doubles junior title at the French Open. Because of these achievements, many fans believed he would achieve solid results in the professional circuit and might even become the next big star.

In January 2018, during the Australian Open qualifying rounds, Piros lost the first set in the opening match but came back to win the next two sets against an Argentine opponent, earning his first Grand Slam qualifying victory and starting his Grand Slam qualifying journey on a positive note. However, he was decisively defeated in the second qualifying round by the fourth seed in the qualifiers, American player Vliegen, and was eliminated. It is also notable that Chinese male player Wu Di competed during the same period and advanced to the final round of Australian Open qualifying, which was the last time Wu Di reached that stage in a Grand Slam qualifier in his career.

Due to various reasons, from 2019 to 2021, Piros did not participate in any Grand Slam qualifying tournaments for a full three years. During this time, he reached his first Challenger final in his career. At the end of May 2022, Piros returned to the Grand Slam qualifying stage. At Roland Garros, he defeated American player Querrey and Belarusian player Grachev convincingly, reaching the final round of Grand Slam qualifying for the first time in his career. Unfortunately, he lost in that round to Portuguese player Borges, narrowly missing the main draw.

Since then, up until the 2025 US Open, Piros reached the final round of Grand Slam qualifying four more times, but each time he was defeated and failed to break through. Interestingly, the post-2005 Chinese male player Shang Juncheng defeated this former Australian Open junior champion in the final round of the 2023 Australian Open qualifying, earning his first career Grand Slam main draw appearance. Perhaps inspired by that victory, Shang went on to beat German player Otte, who had previously reached the second week of a Grand Slam, securing his first Grand Slam main draw win in his career.

Recently, Piros appeared again in the US Open qualifying tournament, marking his thirteenth time competing in Grand Slam qualifiers. In the first qualifying round, Piros won straight sets against French player Bouquier, earning his first career US Open qualifying victory. In the second qualifying round, he defeated Argentine player Tirante, reaching the final round of Grand Slam qualifying for the fifth time in his career. This time, can he make it into the main draw?

In the decisive qualifying round, facing Australian player Duckworth, who had previously reached a tour final, Piros fought through three sets and triumphed, advancing to his first Grand Slam main draw. From winning the Australian Open junior title to reaching the Grand Slam main draw, it took Piros a full eight years, a journey that was far from easy.

Unfortunately, in the first round of the US Open, Piros was defeated in straight sets by American player Schweida, who also advanced through qualifying, and could not progress further. Nevertheless, he still achieved a new milestone in his career. That’s the tennis story for today; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)