Francesca La’O

DATES: November 17-22
LOCATION: Tokyo, Japan
DIVISIONS: 45s

Women’s 45s Wins the Margaret Court Cup!

The recently concluded 2025 45+ World Championships held on the hard courts of Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo, Japan, was one of the most successful young seniors competitions for US women. From a highly competitive field of 24 teams, Team USA came away with the gold medal in the Margaret Court Cup for the first time since 2014, with a 5-0 team record (13-0 in all matches). In the individual competition, US women came away with an added 4 medals – 2 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze. 

When the ITF announced Tokyo as the location for the 2025 45+ World Championships, there was excitement amongst applicants for the US team. In an unusual coincidence, all members selected to Team USA had played competitive tennis in Japan in their past tennis lives. Team captain and #1 line player, Julie Thu of Austin, the most experienced worlds competitor and the #1 world ranked 45s player, had played several pro tournaments in Japan. #2 line singles player and worlds rookie, Hiromi Sasano of San Diego, had just gotten her US citizenship and would be returning to the country of her birth and competing in a familiar setting surrounded by family and friends. Another world’s newcomer, Julia Dimitrov from Atlanta, had previously played the Asian Games for Tajikistan when it was hosted in Japan in 1994. The only other player with world’s experience, Francesca La O of San Francisco, grew up in Manila and had also previously competed at Ariake for ITF juniors and Billie Jean Cup competitions.

Seeded 4th, the US women took care of business in group play with decisive 3-0 wins over Norway and Denmark. The group stage was not without adversity as several players were dealing with minor injuries while getting used to the winter glare and sometimes gusty outdoor conditions. The team persevered and moved into knock-out rounds with good match play behind them. 

The quarterfinals against Korea and the semifinals against Japan, held indoors due to rain, highlighted the stronger competition from Asian countries at this year’s event. The US prevailed in tight 2-0 battles in both ties as a shortage of indoor courts precluded doubles from being played once the result had been decided. Team Korea, unseeded despite having several players with WTA experience, knocked out #6 Canada in the group stage setting up the showdown with the US women. Team USA MVP, Hiromi Sasano, came through 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 against feisty all-courter Sujin Lee despite being down 2-5 and 1-4 in the first and second sets respectively. Captain Julie Thu defeated Eun Jeong Lee 7-6, 6-2 in a competitive match where she mastered both her opponent and the indoor conditions. #8 Japan was a surprise semifinalist after taking out #1 France in a barnburner thanks in part to their stellar doubles play. The US ladies took note and finished them off in the singles with Hiromi prevailing over Aiko Ema 6-4, 6-0 and Captain Julie defeating Asuka Hashimoto 6-2, 6-1.

The US then played the finals against #2 Germany – winners over last year’s champion and #3 Spain – outdoors on a court with livestream action. Spectators were treated to a 3+ hour marathon between Hiromi and Isabell Willer – a lanky, court covering lefty with heavy topspin groundstrokes. Hiromi pulled out the win in dramatic fashion 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 despite cramping towards the end of the 2nd set. (USTA rep for adult tennis, Adam Hutchinson, saved the day by finding some pickle juice to stall her leg cramps.) Captain Julie problem-solved her way through another tight first set that turned into 2nd set domination of power-hitting Mirja Wagner 7-5, 6-1. Julia and Francesca capped off the 3-0 team victory with a 6-3, 6-3 overpowering of Isabelle Benoit and Michaela Singer. 

Overall, the team bonded under the stellar leadership of Captain Julie and were able to experience some local flavor with recommendations from Hiromi. They sampled many variations of the local cuisine, learned how to navigate the metro to visit local shopping hubs of Ginza, Shibuya, Asakusa, and experienced the revitalizing powers of a local bath house! The good vibes carried through into the second week individual tournament with Julie beating Hiromi for a 1-2 finish out of a 128 draw in the singles competition, Hiromi and partner Trent Miller taking out multiple Dutch teams and winning the gold in the mixed doubles, and Julie and Francesca taking the bronze in doubles falling to eventual champions and the top Japanese doubles team of Ema/Hashimoto.

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