Mirra Andreeva is a 16-year-old WTA tennis professional who aims to make it to the top 10 one day. The Russian player is already ranked in the top 200 and is on track to breaking into the top 100 soon. She is currently participating in the French Open. After making it through qualifying with flying colors, Andreeva had one of her dominant showings in the first round. She defeated 85th-ranked Alison Riske-Amritraj in straight sets, much to the surprise of many fans.

A little about Mirra Andreeva and her family background

Andreeva was born in Siberia, Krasnoyarsk in 2007. Erika, her older sister, is also a tennis player. Erika is 18 years old and ranks just below her sister at 147. The sisters’ parents encouraged them to pursue careers as professional athletes.

The Andreeva sisters began playing the sport at home in Siberia and traveled to Sochi to receive formal training. They later set up their coaching camps in Cannes, France, with coaches Jean-René Lisnard and Jean-Christophe Faurel.

Here is how Andreeva began her tennis career along with her sister

Like several tennis stars, the Andreeva sisters began learning tennis when they were younger than 10. Mirra would accompany her 6-year-old sister to her practice sessions when she was a toddler. Mirra also began playing tennis when she 6. As the family realized the potential of their two daughters, they moved from Siberia to Sochi, Russia, to hone their skills.

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Mirra played her first international tournament in Germany at the age of 8. At the under-12 competition, she made the semifinals, further showing the immense talent she has. When she was 12 years old, she was contacted by an IMG (reputed sports and entertainment firm) agent to represent her on tour.

Mirra Andreeva’s tennis stats and achievements so far

Aged 16, Andreeva is on a steady rise on the WTA Tour. The Russian reached a career-high ranking of 293 last season but fell to 405 by the end of the year. However, she played with extreme gusto and rose to rank 143 this year. Additionally, Andreeva has also managed to set a record of 15 consecutive wins, which helped her come so far.

Andreeva won her maiden WTA match against Leylah Fernandez after receiving a wildcard into the main draw of the 2023 Madrid Open. With this victory, she became the third-youngest player in WTA 1000 history to win a main-draw match, after only Coco Gauff and CiCi Bellis.

Furthermore, Andreeva is only the second 15-year-old to beat a Top 50 opponent in a WTA 1000 competition, following Bellis in 2015. She then overcame 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia for her maiden top-20 win to advance to the third round, becoming the seventh woman under the age of 16 to do so since 2000.

How Andreeva celebrated her 16th birthday in style and stunned everyone at the Madrid Open 2023 

While she received her break out moment at the Madrid Open, Andreeva found more reasons to celebrate later. She played her third round match on her 16th birthday against then 19th ranked Magda Linette. While many expected Andreeva to fail against the top 20 opponent, she instead forged a blazing path to victory.

She defeated Linette in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) and found another top 20 win soon after her first. Unfortunately, she was eliminated in the Madrid Open by the eventual winner, Aryna Sabalenka, in the next round.

When Mirra Andreeva gushed over tennis legend Andy Murray at Madrid Open

While Andreeva has become a full-fledged tennis professional, she still has her moments of giddiness when she comes across legends of the sport. In the Madrid Open, where she secured her first WTA 1000 victory, she had a fangirl moment. During an interview with the Tennis Channel, Andreeva talked about her time spent in Madrid. For her, the atmosphere was electric and exciting.

The young player did not fail to mention when she saw Andy Murray as she was eating lunch. Andreeva was starstruck and called the Briton beautiful and amazing. Murray did not fail to notice his fan and wrote a humorous, self-deprecating comment about how she needed to get her eyes fixed. 

Andreeva’s first Grand Slam appearance at French Open 2023

After her first three wins at the Madrid Open, Andreeva jumped more than 50 positions in the rankings. Therefore, she became eligible to play in the qualifiers of the French Open. She finished her qualifying rounds with ease as she won all the matches without dropping a set. Eventually, she faced Alison Riske-Amritraj, former world number 19. To many fans’ surprise, she also won against Riske-Amritraj to claim her debut grand slam victory.

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She is now set to play her second round in the Roland Garros against French tennis professional Diane Parry.

Her interaction with the audience post winning her first Roland Garros match

Andreeva faced Riske-Amritraj and emerged victorious with a score of 6-2, 6-1 in a fast-paced match that ended before 56 minutes. The player ranked 143 is the youngest player to play in the main draw of this year’s Roland Garros. After the victory, Andreeva was overwhelmed with joy. She said that she is doing what feels right at the moment instead of applying immense changes to her game.

She did not fail to mention her favorite star, Andy Murray, and how he wished her the best of luck for her Roland Garros stint. The Russian player has just started and is already churning out great results. She is surely one to watch out for in the coming months and years.