Efremova Rallies to Claim Australian Open Girls’ Crown
Down 3-0 in the second set on Rod Laver Arena, Ksenia Efremova drew inspiration from the night before’s drama and turned the tide against Ekaterina Tupitsyna, securing her junior breakthrough with poise and power.
On Rod Laver Arena, where echoes of the women’s final still lingered, 16-year-old Ksenia Efremova faced a second-set storm against Ekaterina Tupitsyna. Trailing 3-0, the deficit mirrored Elena Rybakina’s third-set hole from the previous night, but the French prodigy with Moscow roots refused to yield. She fired off five straight games, her heavy topspin forehands carving deep angles on the hard court, to seal a 6-3, 7-5 victory in 1 hour and 34 minutes and lift the 2026 Australian Open girls’ singles trophy.
This triumph marked a sharp pivot from her first-round exit here just a year prior, fulfilling a promise whispered two years earlier after a quarterfinal defeat at age 14. The Melbourne crowd’s roar swelled with her momentum, their energy syncing to her quickened footwork as she closed out the match with a down-the-line backhand winner.
“Two years ago, I [made] quarterfinals, and I said to myself, ‘Okay, you can come back next year or the year [after], and you need to get the trophy,” Efremova said after receiving her champion’s trophy. “So thank you so much everyone and hope to see you soon.”
The moment rippled across social channels, amplifying the electric atmosphere of her win.
Your 2026 #AusOpen Junior Girls’ Singles Champion is Ksenia Efremova 🏆
She defeats Ekaterina Tupitsyna 6-3 7-5 to win the Championship.@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/PgZFU9MtRt— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2026
Roots shape a relentless drive
Born in Moscow in 2019, Efremova gripped a racket at age 3, guided by her mother Julia, a former professional with 11 combined ITF singles and doubles titles. The family, including brothers Alexei and Vladimir, relocated to France that same year, where she joined the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy under coach Pierre Debrosse and claimed French citizenship in 2023. This foundation fueled her mental steel, turning early training sessions into disciplined rituals that built resilience against the isolation of junior circuits.
Her breakout arrived in 2022 at age 13, capturing the Tim Essonne Cup in February—an event whose girls’ alumni include Martina Hingis, Marketa Vondrousova, Zheng Qinwen, and Linda Noskova, while boys’ past winners boast Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, and Andrey Rublev. She defended the title in 2023, becoming the first back-to-back champion since Daria Gavrilova in 2006-07, her slice serves skidding low to disrupt baselines on clay.
That October, she added the Tennis Europe Masters under-14 crown, aligning her with legends like Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Belinda Bencic, and Diana Shnaider. These victories layered pressure, yet honed her one–two pattern: a deep serve followed by crosscourt forehands that pinned opponents, a tactic she refined for hard courts like Melbourne’s grippy surface.
Junior titles build pro momentum
Efremova claimed her first ITF junior title in 2022 at the J5 Zaragoza event in Spain, sparking four wins that season and leading to 10 junior singles crowns overall, plus five in doubles. On the pro side, she has secured four ITF W15 titles, all in Monastir, Tunisia, with her debut victory in December 2023 at 14 years, 8 months, and 3 days—the youngest since Sesil Karatantcheva in 2003 at 14 years, 4 months, and 6 days.
She entered the PIF WTA Rankings at No. 1,105 in January 2024 and now holds No. 583, bolstered by a W15 doubles title. At the 2024 Australian Open, she upset No. 5 seed Tereza Valentova in the girls’ opener—a player who later stunned Australia’s Maya Joint before falling to Rybakina this year—using varied depths to exploit the hard court’s bounce.
Recent trends among junior Grand Slam winners, like Wakana Sonobe, Lilli Tagger, and Mia Pohankova earning WTA victories after their 2025 titles at the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon, signal Efremova’s fast track. Her tactical adaptability, from inside-out forehands against net rushers to underspin slices on returns, positions her for quick pro inroads, with the Melbourne hard courts proving her power thrives under pressure.
Path ahead promises bigger battles
The 2026 title transforms self-doubt into quiet confidence, her eyes now fixed on WTA stages where matchup edges will face sterner tests. Training blocks at Mouratoglou will sharpen her against flatter strokes, much like Tupitsyna’s, but with added variety for tour-level rallies. As the #AusOpen buzz from @wwos, @espn, @tntsports, @wowowtennis, and #AO26 settles, Efremova’s journey accelerates, her blend of grit and game carrying her toward the spotlight she once promised herself.
