French teen Ksenia Efremova becomes youngest to win ITF event in 20 years
Ksenia Efremova won the W15 event in Tunisia without dropping a set, knocking out three of the top five seeds en route to her maiden ITF title
French teenager Ksenia Efremova became the youngest player to win an ITF tournament since 2003, beating Selina Dal 7-6(5), 6-0 at the W15 in Monastir, Tunisia on Sunday.
After qualifying for the event, Efremova went on to knock out the No 1, No 4 and No 5 seeds, winning the tournament without dropping a set. It was only the Frenchwoman’s third appearance in an ITF event, having made the quarter-finals in her most recent attempt.
Efremova is now on a 12-match winning streak, with the unranked player claiming the scalps of players as high as Adithya Karunaratne, world No 546.
Efremova a top prospect, looking forward to Australian Open
At just 14 years and eight months old, Efremova is already rated as a top prospect among juniors. She will now travel to Australia to compete in her first junior Grand Slam, where she will be viewed by many as a dark horse at the event.
“I really believe I can do something in the Australian Open,” Efremova said to Tennis Majors in an exclusive conversation last week. “I know I’m not the favorite, because the top five seeds are favorites. But I think I can do really good there with my tennis now.”
A full question and answer exclusive with Ksenia Efremova will be released on tennismajors.com shortly.
