Whitney Osuigwe finished strong at the 2017 ITF Junior Masters, defeating Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina, 6-2, 6-2, to claim third place at the elite junior event.

 

The 15-year-old Osuigwe went 3-0 in round-robin play before losing in the semifinals to Kaja Juvan. But she rebounded Sunday with one of her best performances of the tournament to remain No. 1 in the ITF junior world rankings with two Grade A events remaining on the season.

 

"This week's been great," Osuigwe said after her win over Lourdes Carle. "I've played pretty good tennis the entire [week]. Yesterday I struggled a little bit but today I knew it mattered, so I played free and I actually ended up playing really well. So it's been fun here this week."

 

Related: Osuigwe continues run at ITF Junior Masters

 

It has been a stellar year for the Bradenton, Fla., resident. She won the French Open girls' singles title and reached the doubles final and singles quarterfinals at junior Wimbledon. ADVERTISEMENT Prior to the ITF Junior Masters, she finished runner-up at the Grade A Osaka Mayor's Cup in Osaka, Japan. And in team play, she helped lead the U.S. girls' team to the 2017 Junior Fed Cup title.

 

The ITF Junior Masters featured eight boys and eight girls who qualified on the basis of their ITF World Junior Ranking as of Sept. 11. This is the first year the tournament was held during the regular season and formed part of the race to become 2017 ITF Junior World Champion.