Unbeaten Wimbledon star who received no prize money speaks out on Rafael Nadal chat

Young tennis sensation Ivan Ivanov explained exactly what he took from his talks with Rafael Nadal, as the teenager clinched this year's Wimbledon boys' singles title. The 16-year-old from Bulgaria has been impressing in his formative years, and currently sits atop the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior rankings as a result.

Training at the Rafa Nadal Academy, Ivanov has had the chance to share a number of training sessions with the 22-time Grand Slam champion, and in a recent interview with Diario AS, admitted that it's not just physical skills and technique that he has learnt from his mentor. He explained: "I've been lucky enough to share some training sessions with Nadal. Before my team and I travelled to Wimbledon, we spoke with him, and he gave me a series of tips on how to approach matches on grass, how to perform on the court, the movements I should adapt."

He added: "He told me to focus on the surface and the bounce of the ball. Even if I lost a point or a game, I shouldn't beat myself up mentally because it's not easy to play on grass. He encouraged me to always try to give my best, to bring out my game, and that then the opportunities to win would come."

It appears as though the advice paid dividends for Ivanov, who was ultimately able to clinch his first Junior Grand Slam title at Wimbledon this summer after impressing on the grass courts. After dispatching Ziga Sesko in the quarter-finals and besting Max Schonhaus in the semis, Ivanov was pitted off against ITF No. 18 Ronit Karki in the final.

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There, he was quick to secure a 6-2, 6-3 win over the American to lift the first major title of his youth career. While this year's men's Wimbledon winner, Jannik Sinner, pocketed a cool £3million for besting Carlos Alcaraz in the finals at Centre Court earlier this month, Ivanov unfortunately walked away with just a title to his name due to strict junior tennis rules that prevent players from earning.

While junior stars can receive money from sponsorship deals, tournaments don't offer cash prizes, as it is considered inappropriate for youngsters and teenagers to compete for money. Furthermore, junior tennis players are considered amateur until they make the decision to turn professional, with amateur tournaments also not tending to pay players. However, as per the Wimbledon website, players "do receive ranking points that count towards their international junior ranking."

With his win at Wimbledon, Ivanov became the first junior from his homeland to taste success on the courts of SW19 since Grigor Dimitrov's title win in 2008. And Ivanov explained how Dimitrov had messaged him to congratulate him on his win.

He added: "I've received many messages from people in my country who have been following this victory. Also from Grigor Dimitrov himself, who congratulated me and told me I had to keep learning, working hard, and fighting. Receiving congratulations from him or Rafa Nadal is incredible and gives me a lot of strength to face the transition from junior to professional, which is what I'm going to have to make."

With a wealth of momentum off the back of his first Junior Grand Slam win, Ivanov hopes to compete regularly on the ATP Tour in the next five years, while admitting that his dream would be playing in the final of a Wimbledon men's final.