‘They Don’t Want to Play’: 17YO WTA Star Reveals the Dark Side of Tennis Days Ahead of the French Open

Ksenia Efremova has often been touted as a player to watch out for in the coming future. She had won her first ITF title at the age of 14 and had been given an entry in the qualifier list of the Australian Open earlier this year at just 16. Though the Frenchwoman failed to make it to the main draw, she later went on to win the girls’ title at the Grand Slam. Efremova is now set for a brand-new experience at the French Open as she has earned a wildcard entry into the main draw. However, it turns out that this early success comes with a costly price.

As Efremova gears up for her Grand Slam main draw debut against Sorana Cirstea at the Roland Garros, she opened up on being denied from training with players of the junior circuit. The 17-year-old revealed that the junior players no longer want to train with her, especially after her recent success.

“I’m not saying: if you won a Grand Slam as a junior, you’re going to be a ‘wow’ player. So sometimes it’s hard to train with the girls because they don’t want to play, they don’t want to play sets because I’m a wildcard. It’s happened to me before. I don’t want to say the name, but it’s already happened to me that girls didn’t want to because I’m a wildcard. But then there’s even a story: the girl, she came in and she said, ‘Well, it’s okay’, and then I put her 7-0,” she told reporters in Paris.

Interestingly, Efremova is the youngest women’s player to be a part of French Open’s main draw this year. She is one out of two 17-year-olds who are a part of the competition. The second one being Australia’s Emerson Jones, who has also received a wildcard entry into the main draw thanks to the French Tennis Federation’s agreement with Tennis Australia.

It can be very difficult to manage the pressure of playing in a Grand Slam at such a young age. However, Efremova isn’t too concerned about it and remarked that handling tension isn’t anything new for her. The World No. 625 also admitted about learning a lot from her qualifier clash at the French Open last year.

“When you play tennis, there’s always tension. The moment you step into that pressure atmosphere, you know that’s going to be with you your whole career. So honestly, it’s not something new. The main draw at Roland-Garros, it’s just another experience. But it’s true that last year, in the first round of qualifying, the pressure level — it was a joke. I lost and it wasn’t pretty at all, I could have won, let’s say. But it doesn’t matter, you learn, you carry on. I’m not dead from it,” she said.

Being a young talent, Efremova will definitely be the underdog in her upcoming clash against Cirstea. Despite drawing a tough opponent in the first round itself, the young Frenchwoman is still blistering with confidence and is aiming to replicate her compatriot’s run from last year’s tournament.

Ksenia Efremova aims to go on a run like Lois Boisson at the French Open

When asked what a good Roland Garros campaign would be for her, Efremova replied that she will be aiming for the semifinals and will aim to replicate what an unfancied Lois Boisson did at the Grand Slam last year.

Notably, the latter had gone on a dream run in the tournament and had made it to the last 4 by defeating the likes of Elise Mertens, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva. Despite being defeated by the eventual champion, Coco Gauff in the semis, it was still a memorable campaign for Boisson and Efremova is now looking to take inspiration from her senior.

“Do as well as I can and, of course, win matches. Honestly, I really want to go far, show everyone I’m really capable of it, and tell myself I’m sure of myself. I’m full of confidence, I can do it. Plus, playing Roland-Garros, it’s home, it’s France. I’m going to try to do what Loïs Boisson did last year – it wasn’t bad, honestly. But my aim is to play good matches, just play well,” she stated.

The 17-year-old also aims to take full advantage of the crowd support that she will get at the Suzanne-Lenglen against Cirstea.

“I’m going to make 100% use of the atmosphere on Suzanne-Lenglen. I love playing with the crowd, encouraging myself. And besides, I train here, not Cîrstea (laughs). I know the court perfectly,” she further said.

Will Efremova go on to cause a monumental upset in her first-ever main-draw match at the Roland Garros, or will Cirstea prevail comfortably over the youngster? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Trending Articles

The post ‘They Don’t Want to Play’: 17YO WTA Star Reveals the Dark Side of Tennis Days Ahead of the French Open appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.