This December, Australia’s best rising prospects are competing for national honours at the Australian Junior Championships in Launceston.
Formerly known as the December Showdown, this tournament has helped some of Australia’s current players on their pathway to the elite level.
In December 2013 and 2014, Australian Tennis Magazine previewed the event, highlighting a series of players who were destined to become the next crop of Australian stars.
Here are some of the players who were listed and how they have fared since.
2013
Bradley Mousley, 17, South Australia
ATM said: Equipped with serious weapons (serve and forehand) and the ability to move forward and close out the point, Mousley aims to develop into a big-game player.
An Australian Open boys’ doubles champion in 2013 and 2014, Mousley found most of his success as a doubles player on the pro circuit.
His 2017 season was the best of his career after he claimed six doubles crowns, including three Challenger titles – Launceston, Traralgon and Canberra. The highlight of that season was a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open alongside Alex Bolt.
Mousley achieved a career-high doubles ranking of world No.94 before AO 2018. He last competed at an ITF M25 tournament in Cairns in October 2023.
Max Purcell, 15, New South Wales
ATM said: The 15-year-old has a serious appetite for competition and backed with potential for a heavy game, the next few years will be telling.
Throughout his peak, Purcell was one of the top doubles players in the world, most notably partnering with Jordan Thompson to win four titles in 2024.
After he and Matt Ebden won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title and advanced to the Australian Open final in 2022, Purcell, along with Thompson, became the first Aussies to win the US Open men’s doubles since Todd Woodbridge in 2003.
READ: Purcell and Thompson crowned US Open champions
Following their Flushing Meadows triumph, Purcell rose to a career-high ranking of world No.8 and the duo qualified for the year-end ATP Finals. They became the first all-Aussie pairing since the Woodies in 1999 to progress to the semifinals.
Kody Pearson, 14, New South Wales
ATM said: Pearson is particularly crafty on court – a skill perhaps developed through a background in squash, where moving your opponent side-to-side is crucial.
Pearson benefited from five years of college at the University of Tulsa, with a record of 136-85 during his time at the Hurricanes. He was also selected for the all-conference doubles team in back-to-back seasons, in 2021 and 2022.
The 26-year-old most recently relished a career-best season in 2025, having a solid 12 months on the doubles circuit. The New South Welshman won four titles for the year from eight finals.
It propelled Pearson to the highest ranking of his career, to world No.187 in November. He finished 2025 inside Australia’s top 10 for men's doubles.
Jaimee Fourlis, 14, Victoria
ATM said: At 14 years of age, Fourlis has a raw talent that’s generating plenty of excitement. While there are no guarantees of exactly how far she’ll progress, what’s certain is her mightily impressive athletic ability.
Like the most notable players from the 2013 class, Fourlis has experienced most of her professional fortune in the tandem format.
The 26-year-old has 11 doubles titles to her name, including the 2025 Canberra International, where she partnered with compatriot Petra Hule.
Fourlis has also excelled on the mixed doubles stage, maintaining a 7-3 record in the format over three Australian Open campaigns.
Her best performance came in 2022, when she reached the final with Jason Kubler. They were the fifth all-Australian duo of the century to make the mixed doubles final at Melbourne Park.
2014
Alexei Popyrin, 15, New South Wales
ATM said: Developing his game in Spain, Popyrin is a towering athlete blessed with a big game and effortless power. Possessing such weapons coupled with a maturity on court has seen him selected for Australia’s Junior Davis Cup team.
Popyrin’s weapons helped him achieve a top-20 ranking in 2025, proving that with consistency, he can be one of the most dangerous players on Tour.
After signs of promise at the beginning of his career, where he defeated the likes of Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz while ranked outside of the top 50, Popyrin made himself known at the Montreal Masters in August 2024.
MORE: "I'm a Masters 1000 title winner and I can't believe it" Popyrin wins Montreal Masters
The 26-year-old defeated five players inside the top 20 to win his first Masters 1000 title, which he then backed up with a four-set victory over Novak Djokovic at the US Open.
Dane Sweeny, 13, Queensland
ATM said: One of the younger players emerging through the ranks, Sweeny is diligent, professional and committed to improvement.
Sweeny has shown glimpses of his fighting best throughout his short career. The 24-year-old earned Australian Open singles qualification in 2024, defeating top-50 player Zizou Bergs and Italian Luca Nardi en route to his maiden main draw. He pushed No.22 seed Francisco Cerundolo to five sets in the opening round on debut.
Sweeny recorded his most wins in a season in 2025 with 73 victories. The world No.181 claimed eight titles in the second half of the year, a period in which he won 52 of his 59 matches.
Maddison Inglis, 16, Western Australia
ATM said: The quiet, unassuming Inglis has a calm exterior on the court, masking an intense competitor who can step it up and crunch her groundstrokes.
Since making her WTA singles top-200 debut in August 2019, Inglis has recorded a year-end ranking within that threshold for all but one year – 2023.
Her best Grand Slam run came at Australian Open 2022, where she advanced to the third round, following wins over No.23 seed Leylah Fernandez and American Hailey Baptiste.
This season saw the 27-year-old feature more prominently on the WTA Tour, qualifying for three WTA 1000 tournaments – Indian Wells, Cincinnati and Beijing. At United Cup 2026, she will don the green and gold for the second time.
Olivia Gadecki, 12, Queensland
ATM said: Gadecki is an impressive talent for her age, tall with a big frame and devastating power off both wings.
On the WTA Tour, Gadecki has proven herself in singles and doubles competitions, obtaining top 100 rankings in both formats.
The 23-year-old became Australian singles No.1 in September 2024 after she reached a WTA 500 final in Guadalajara, Mexico. Gadecki upstaged world No.11 Danielle Collins in the round of 16, defeating the AO 2022 finalist in straight sets. The Queenslander ultimately attained a career-high ranking of world No.83 in October 2024.
READ: Gadecki rises to Australian No.1
Gadecki, however, has seen more success at doubles level, with her current ranking of world No.52 her career best. She made a surprise run to the semifinals at Wimbledon 2025 with American Desirae Krawczyk.
It wasn’t her best Grand Slam doubles result of the season, though. Gadecki teamed up with John Peers to become the third all-Australian pair to win the Australian Open mixed doubles crown.
More in our 'Where are they now?' series
> December Showdown Class of 2009 and 2010
> December Showdown Class of 2011 and 2012