While the 2025 British Junior Open produced more silverware for powerhouse Egypt, it was the performances from the USA which signalled a further shift in junior riches for a nation battling for racket-sport attention ahead of the LA Olympics.
California’s Vivaan Mehta became just the second American boys’ champion in history after a dramatic five-game BU15 final win. Meanwhile Team USA celebrated a record four top three finishes to close out its most successful BJO campaign.
It came as hosts England finished atop the podium for a second year running. Moreover, there was a dearth of semi-finalists, with only Ali Khalil, coached by the peerless Rob Owen, reaching the final. On the flipside, Nick Taylor, the British coach now in charge of USA Squash, recorded a seismic set of results.
Mehta, a 5/8 seed, pulled together a remarkable run to the final without dropping a game, including a 3-0 upset over the two seed in the semi-finals to set up a final match up against England’s top seed Khalil.
Mehta defeated Khalil in a five-game US Junior Open semi-final, and found himself 2-1 down, 15-13, 4-11, 10-12. Mehta dug deep in between games to come back and clinch the title 11-8, 11-4 after fifty-one minutes.
“This is like nothing I’ve ever done before,” Mehta said. “Compared to winning something like the US or Dutch Junior Open, this is another feeling. Each year, I feel like the US team is getting better and closer to the Egyptians.”
Alexander Dartnell, who made history by becoming the first American to reach the BU19 finals, endured an equally dramatic five-game final but found himself on the losing end in front of a packed gallery. Dartnell, a 9/16 seed, fell against Egypt’s 5/8 seed Eiad Daoud 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7 in fifty-nine minutes.
Team USA set a new milestone with four players reaching the podium—an improvement on three top three finishes in 2024—with Christian Capella (BU19) and Alice Wang (GU11) both earning bronze medals. Other top ten finishes included Anderson Morgan (7th, BU11), Brendon Chan (4th, BU13) Alex Jaffe (5th, GU19), John-Jayden Luo (5th, BU15), Chelsea Chen (6th, GU15), Vivienne Sze (7th, GU15) and Isabella Tang (8th, GU15)
Other new program milestones included six semifinalists and eighteen quarterfinalists. Of the fifty-eight player contingent, thirty-five reached the round of sixteen.
“This year’s British Junior Open was special and historic on so many fronts,” said Karim Ibrahim, US Squash Director of Junior National Teams. “I’m so proud of every player for fighting hard and with integrity and we are excited for what the future holds.”
The 2025 BJO marked Team USA’s twelfth annual trip to England as a team.
Last year, Team USA produced a record sixteen quarterfinalists and three players recorded top three finishes. Two years ago, Team USA produced two champions in what was a historic first for the junior national team programme.