Ksenia Efremova

Ksenia Efremova

Country (sports)	France
Residence	Alpes-Maritimes, France
Born	(2009-04-28) 28 April 2009 (age 15) Moscow, Russia
Prize money	$7,755
Singles
Career record	23–2
Career titles	3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 732 (11 November 2024)
Current ranking	No. 732 (11 November 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open  Junior	QF (2024)
Wimbledon  Junior	Q2 (2024)
US Open  Junior	1R (2024)
Doubles
Career record	4–2
Highest ranking	No. 1390 (5 August 2024)
Current ranking	No. 1470 (11 November 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open  Junior	1R (2024)
US Open  Junior	1R (2024)
Last updated on: 11 November 2024.

Ksenia Efremova (born 28 April 2009) is a French tennis player. ^{[1] [2]}

Early and personal life

Ksenia Efremova was born in Moscow, Russia in 2009, ^[3] she is the daughter of former professional tennis player Julia Efremova and former amateur player Alexey Efremov. She started playing tennis at three years-old and was coached by her mother. ^[4] Her family, including her brothers Alexei and Vladimir, moved from Russia to near Nice in Alpes-Maritimes in 2019. ^{[3] [5]}

Since the end of 2019, Efremova trained daily at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the South of France under French coach Pierre Debrosse and the supervision of her mother. ^{[3] [4] [6]} Efremova's father never lived in France, but visited his family several times on the French Riviera before his death from cancer in Germany in 2021. ^[3]

The family began the application for naturalization in early 2021, and by September 2023, Efremova, along with her mother and her two brothers, became French nationals. ^{[3] [7]}

Career

2021–2023: Junior career

Efremova was in the spotlight from an early age as a "tennis prodigy". ^[8] By the age of 11-years-old, she was competing in the 14-year-old age group. ^[6] On 3 December 2021, just six days after her father passed away, Efremova won a final in Sweden and dedicated the title to him. ^{[4] [9]} In February 2022, Efremova won the Tim Essonne event after beating Marta Mariia Makarova in the final. ^[10] Efremova then leapfrogged to the ITF Juniors under-18 circuit, where she won five titles in categories grade 4 and 5, the first of which just nine days after celebrating her 13th birthday in April. ^[3] Efremova first came to the tennis world's attention in October 2022, when she won the season-ending Tennis Europe Masters in the under-14 category in Monte-Carlo. It was her sixth title of the season on the U14 Tennis Europe circuit. ^[11]

In January 2023, Efremova reached the final of the Petits As in Tarbes, the world's leading indoor U14 competition, which she lost to Anna Pushkareva. ^{[12] [13]} In February, Efremova defended her Tim Essonne title by beating Sara Oliveriusova in the final. ^[14] In March, she reached the final of a U16 tournament in Torelló despite still being one month away from her 14th birthday, and although she narrowly lost it, Efremova did win the doubles events with Adelina Lachinova. ^[15] In 2023, Efremova won two Tennis Europe Super Category events, the first in Maia in May, and the second in Düren in August. ^[16]

2023–2024: Start of professional career

In November 2023, the 14-year-old Efremova won her first WTA point after coming through qualifying at an ITF event in Monastir, and beating Camilla Zanolini, and the third seed Yidi Yang en route to the quarterfinals. ^[17] The following month she won her first ITF title, defeating German Selina Dal in the final, in Monastir. ^[18] Even though it was only her second main draw at professional events, Efremova won the title without losing a set in the tournament. ^{[18] [19]} At 14 years, 8 months, and 3 days she became the youngest player to win an ITF tournament since Sesil Karatantcheva (14 years, 4 months, 6 days) in 2003. ^[20]

On 8 January 2024, she appeared in the WTA rankings for the first time at 1105th. These results led to Efremova being given a wildcard from the Australian Tennis Federation for the Australian Open Juniors, where she defeated three opponents in straight sets, including the No. 5 seed Tereza Valentová in the first round, before losing in the quarterfinals to the top seed Renáta Jamrichová. ^[21]

Ksenia represented France at the girls U16 Zone A team Winter Cup qualifying competition in Feucherolles,[i] France February 2–4, but withdrew from the final round due to an elbow injury[ii] .  She missed the entire clay court season. She next played June 29th  on grass in qualifying rounds at J300 Roehampton, winning her matches in the qualifying but falling in the first round of the main draw.  In qualifying for the Wimbledon Junior Championships, she won her first match but lost in the final round of qualifying[iii].  She received a wildcard that allowed her to play in July at a professional tournament at Monistar, Tunisia, the site of her first professional title.  She defeated seeds #1 and #2 at this tournament, winning her second professional title.  She also played doubles at this event, advancing to the Final.[iv]  

---

[i] Zone A G16 2024 Tennis Europe Winter Cups by Dunlop Ksenia Efremova Profile https://te.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=2B2D93CC-9D2A-4E0E-BBAD-BA6116287F7B&player=13 ; https://tinyurl.com/ywtrd298;

[ii] Ksenia Efremova to miss Roland Garros and Wimbledon with injury https://www.tennismajors.com/wta-tour-news/ksenia-efremova-to-miss-roland-garros-and-wimbledon-with-injury-752383.html ; https://tinyurl.com/ymz68dem

[iii] ITF Junior Tournaments, Ksenia Efremova Activity; https://www.itftennis.com/en/players/ksenia-efremova/800591535/fra/jt/s/activity/#pprofile-info-tabs ; https://tinyurl.com/bdee3adb

[iv] ITF Women Tournaments, Ksenia Efremova Activity; https://www.itftennis.com/en/players/ksenia-efremova/800591535/fra/wt/s/activity/#pprofile-info-tabs ; https://tinyurl.com/35934xsp

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 3 (3 titles)

Legend W15 tournaments (3–0)

Finals by surface Hard (3–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Dec 2023	ITF Monastir, Tunisia	W15	Hard	Selina Dal	7–6(5), 6–0
Win	2–0	Jul 2024	ITF Monastir, Tunisia	W15	Hard	Jenna Defalco	1-6, 6–3, 6-2
Win	3–0	Oct 2024	ITF Monastir, Tunisia	W15	Hard	Nina Radovanovic	6-1, 7–5

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

Legend W15 tournaments (0–1)

Finals by surface Hard (0–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 2024	ITF Monastir, Tunisia	W15	Hard	Sophia Ksandinov	Zdena Šafářová Marie Villet	1–6, 1–6

References

1. "Ksenia Efremova". itf. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
2. "Ksenia Efremova". wta. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
3. "Ksenia Efremova, future star of women's tennis, becomes French national". Tennismajors. 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
4. Grez, Matias (18 January 2022). "Ksenia Efremova: 12-year-old Russian tennis prodigy has 'incredible potential,' says Patrick Mouratoglou". CNN. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
5. Penoignon, Cristophe (5 September 2023). "Tennis: who is Ksenia Efremova, 14-year-old future world star naturalized French?". Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
6. "Julia Efremova, Raising a Champion #3 – Into Ksenia Efremova's dreams". Tennis Majors. 4 February 2021. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
7. Gothot, Samuel (6 September 2023). "Who is Ksenia Efremova, the naturalized French tennis nugget and "ready to do anything to win"?". Leparisien. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
8. "Ksenia Efremova: Is Russian prodigy the future of women's tennis?". cnn. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
9. Bisti, Riccardo (3 March 2022). "Russia is crying, but there is Ksenia on the horizon". Tennismagazineutalia. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
10. "Efremova & Nurlanuly score breakthrough wins at Tim Essonne". www.tenniseurope.org. 5 August 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
11. Rouquette, Cedric (28 October 2022). "Ksenia Efremova wins the Masters Tennis Europe U14". Tennis Majors. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
12. "Ksenia Efremova wins at Saint-Grégoire, not Raphaël Vaksmann". Tennisactu. 2 December 2023. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
13. Marcinkowski, Valentin (27 January 2023). "Petits As de Tarbes: Ksenia Efremova, it's now or never!". ladepeche.fr. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
14. "Efremova & Frolov dominate at Tim Essonne". www.tenniseurope.org. 27 February 2023. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
15. "Campions del U16 Joan Mir 2023 - Club Tennis Torelló, Escola de Tennis, padel i gimnàs" [U16 Champions Joan Mir 2023 - Club Tennis Torelló, Tennis School, padel and gyms]. tennistorello.cat (in Catalan). 27 March 2023. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
16. "Efremova & Queiroz claim Super Category Düren titles". www.tenniseurope.org. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
17. "14-year-old Ksenia Efremova already has two WTA points". Tennisactu.net. 24 November 2023. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
18. "Ksenia Efremova wins first pro title at 14. Remember this name!". www.tennisworldusa.org. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
19. "Ksenia Efremova, 14 years and 8 months, wins her first ITF". Tennisactu. 31 December 2023. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
20. "At 14 years old, the young Frenchwoman Ksenia Efremova wins the ITF tournament in Monastir". Ouest-France. 31 December 2023. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
21. "Run Of 14-Year-Old Efremova Ended At Hands Of Top Seed At Juniors Australian Open". tennis-infinity.com. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.

External links

• Ksenia Efremova at the Women's Tennis Association
• Ksenia Efremova at the International Tennis Federation