14-year-old Estonian Elizaveta Anikina falls in semifinal of tennis tournament in Sweden

Estonian tennis player Elizaveta Anikina, who is 14 years old, lost in the semifinal of the ITF World Tennis Tour W15 tournament in Täby, Sweden. The W15 category is the lowest tier of professional women's events, where young players begin competing for a place in the world rankings. Despite the defeat, Anikina earned the first WTA ranking points of her career at the event: six points.

Road to the semifinal

Anikina had no WTA ranking before this tournament. In the quarterfinal she knocked out the top seed, Kaisu Vilda Hennemann, who is ranked 237th in the world.

The semifinal

In the semifinal the Estonian lost in straight sets, 3-6, 4-6, to fourth seed Clara Veldman of the Netherlands, ranked 893rd in the world. Anikina hit one ace and made three double faults. Veldman also had one ace but committed five double faults. Anikina converted 2 of her 11 break points, while Veldman converted 4 of 7.

The final

In the final Veldman lost to Sweden's Iva Marinkovic, 5-7, 2-6.

How a ranking is earned

To enter the world rankings, a player must earn ranking points at a minimum of three different tournaments, with a single point at each being enough. Alternatively, she can collect at least 10 ranking points at one tournament. The six points from Täby are Anikina's first entry in the WTA points system, but she has not yet gained an actual ranking, as these conditions have not been met.