British tennis wonderkid who won US Open has celebrations cut short with reality check

British teenager Mika Stojsavljevic emulated Andy Murray at the US Open.

2024 US Open - Day 13

Mika Stojsavljevic was crowned the US Open girls' singles champion (Image: Getty)

Mika Stojsavljevic will have no time to celebrate her triumph in Flushing Meadows.

The 15-year-old British wonderkid won the US Open junior girls’ title, emulating the likes of Andy Murray and Heather Watson.

But the six-foot teenager won’t be hanging around in New York to enjoy her victory, as she is getting straight on a flight to head home for the new school year.

Stojsavljevic beat No. 7 seed Wakana Sonobe 6-4 6-4 in the girls’ singles final on Saturday, becoming the fourth Brit to win a junior US Open title. The Brit later told Sky Sports she was keen to get some chipotle and to head to the top of the Rockefeller Centre before leaving the city.

But the newly-crowned champion hasn’t had much time to tick off her list of must-dos as, a day after lifting the trophy, she is getting on a plane home so she can return to school. Stojsavljevic is going into her final year at Amherst School in Loughborough.

With the new academic year getting underway, she’s in a race against time to get back. “Yeah, I think I'm going back to school on Tuesday. I'm flying back tomorrow and then going back to school,” she smiled, speaking after her title win on Saturday.

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2024 US Open - Day 13

Mika Stojsavljevic beat Wakana Sonobe in the final (Image: Getty)

“Yeah, I'm definitely still in school, I have my GCSEs this year, and obviously it's important to get those done. Yeah, we'll see after that.”

Stojsavljevic isn’t expecting a huge reception when she returns to school as a junior Grand Slam champion, as her class is made up of fellow tennis players. The 15-year-old continued: “I mean, it probably might be a little bit different.

“Actually, in our setup, it's only tennis players in our classroom. The Loughborough National Academy from the LTA, they have made these really small classrooms to make sure it's just focused on us. So I think it will be a little bit easier just being with tennis people. But, yeah, around school it might be a little bit different.”

2024 US Open - Day 13

Mika Stojsavljevic is prioritising her GCSEs this year (Image: Getty)

Stojsavljevic’s immediate plans are now unclear with her GCSEs taking priority. But the London-born tennis player believes her coaches and training centre will be able to make things work so she can keep competing.

“I'm sure everyone back at the Loughborough National Academy, they will try their best to make the schedule as good as they can for me, but I obviously still have to attend a lot of school,” she said. “This is an important year for me. But I'm sure they will, you know, mix a lot of senior stuff as well as still some juniors.”

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