Sport
19 December, 2025
Alayla Savvidis tops Jiu Jitsu rankings
Teenage sensation Alayla Savvidis has capped off a sensational 2025 campaign with another stunning achievement, ranked Australia’s number one Juvenile Girls Gi and No-Gi Blue Jiu Jitsu fighter.
Savvidis is a member of Team Lazaros BJJ and Muay Thai, a Maryborough-based team run by her father, Laz Savvidis.
Despite finishing with a perfect 9-0 record and seven gold medals during the 2024 Gi competitions, Savvidis finished second in the Australian Federation of Brasilian Jiu Jitsu (AFBJJ) Juvenile Girls Gi Blue rankings last campaign.
Motivated by last year’s snub, Savvidis topped the rankings in 2025, racking up 306 points in the Juvenile Girls Gi Blue competition.
Even more remarkably, Savvidis also finished first in the Juvenile Girls No-Gi Blue standings with 267 points.
“It means a lot, but it’s not something that I would boast about to everyone,” Savvidis said.
“I’m proud of myself and I’m very thankful to my parents for spending their money on me to get to where I am and supporting me.
“I’m thankful for my siblings and all my family. I enjoy when they come along and support me, especially my brother, when I’m on the bottom, he just screams for me to get out.”
Across the Gi and No-Gi events, Savvidis finished with an impressive 20-6 record, winning 12 golds and four silvers in competitions all across the country.
Among those golds include state championship victories in South Australia, New South Wales and ACT, as well as silvers at national and Oceanic level.
Being stuck in the car for hours travelling to competitions can be the perfect catalyst for stress and expectation to grow exponentially and consume competitors.
However, Savvidis said she’s become accustomed to those feelings and ensures they never overwhelm her fiery passion for competition.
“I’m always nervous for every competition, even if I have gone against that person before, I get nervous because they could be training just as hard or even harder than I am,” she said.
“I think the feeling of getting my hand raised and getting the gold medal motivates me.
“I like all of it, I like going out there and competing and getting to show off what I can do.”
With an upcoming promotion to Adult competition and nearing her purple belt, Savvidis is remaining patient on what her next steps are in the world of Jiu Jitsu.
What isn’t up in the air for Savvidis is her eagerness to test herself against older competition, something she has battled before.
“When I was 14, I was in orange belt and I competed against a 34-year-old woman and she choked me out cold and then I woke up and did the next match against a 25-year-old and won that and I got bronze in that competition,” she said.
“When dad told me I was going against women, I was scared, and then when I got on the mat, I was still nervous but just wanted to try my best against them.
“I want to compete for as long as I can and then maybe take over the gym after dad.”