Shivali has got the opportunity to play from Nepal in the Elite Trophy, organized under the Australian Open with the aim of giving junior players a Grand Slam experience. The best 8-8 girls and boys players from the Asia Pacific region are competing in the Elite Trophy.
What you should know
Top-ranked junior tennis player Shivali Gurung has lost in the semifinals of the Asia-Pacific U-14 Elite Trophy being held in Melbourne.
Shivali has got a chance to play from Nepal in the Elite Trophy organized under the Australian Open with the aim of giving junior players a Grand Slam experience. The best 8-8 girls and boys players from the Asia Pacific region are competing in the Elite Trophy.
Shivali lost to host country Australia's Musemma Cilic 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinal playoff on Thursday. She presented a tough challenge to third-seeded Cilic in the second set. Cilic will compete with top-seeded Indian Jency Deepakbhai Kanabar for the title.
Shivali lost one match in the group stage to the same Jency. Shivali reached the last four after winning two matches with an excellent performance. Shivali will now play Japan's Aoi Yoshida, who lost to Jency in the semifinals, for the third-place playoff.
Shivali, who is in Group ‘A’, had a good start on the Melbourne courts by defeating fourth seeded Chinese Jin Zhou in a competitive match. She managed to win the match 6-4, 3-6, 10-7. Shivali lost to Indian Jency 6-4, 6-2 in the second match. Shivali reached the semifinals after an easy 6-0, 6-1 win over Jocelyn Kay in the third match. Eight players were divided into two groups to compete.
South Korean Kim Se-yun and Australian Tommy Kamus have reached the finals on the boys’ side. The finals for both girls and boys will be held on Friday.
Tennis Australia has announced that the Elite Trophy was launched with the aim of providing professional training as well as giving young players participating in the tournament an opportunity to watch Grand Slam matches at the Australian Open and meet the world’s top players.
