Mirra Andreeva could be the player to watch in the women’s draw at Wimbledon with the 17-year-old sensation already reaching the semi-finals of the French Open.
Andreeva became the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist since Martina Hingis in 1997 at Roland Garros before her teenage dreams were dashed by Jasmine Paolini.
Russia froze on the big stage as Paolini, 28, became only the third Italian woman to reach the Paris final in the Open era.
Andreeva admits too many errors have cost her big points, but something she hopes to put right at Wimbledon where she surprised everyone, including herself, coming through the qualifiers to reach the fourth round last year.
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Andreeva talked about her rise to the top of the women’s game
“Honestly, I could have played better, of course. I had a lot of mistakes. Which I usually don’t do. Well, that was a bit hard to accept,” said Andreeva after the French Open heartbreak.
“I struggled during the whole match, but that’s how it is. It just happened today. I can take a lot of positives from these two weeks.”
Born in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk in April 2007, Andreeva and her sister Erika, who is also a professional tennis player, were introduced to the sport by their mother.
He moved to Sochi and then Cannes, France, to set up a training base with coaches Jean-René Lisnard and Jean-Christophe Faurel.
At the age of 15, she made a breakthrough when she reached the women’s final at the Australian Open in 2022.
He turned professional in 2023 and made his first impression on the WTA on clay at the Madrid Open, after reaching the fourth round, and then made his debut at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, which made him a sports star.
Erika was sitting in the front row up Mirra, and it did not come as a surprise.
“I’ve watched how he’s changed himself, how he’s grown,” she said. “I think he has this success because he grows mentally. In his head he starts to think more like an adult. Also, he is a tennis fan. He watches tennis all the time and he has it all his life. If you like tennis. like he does, you have no choice but to get good results, you know?”
Bringing former champions on board
Former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez has forged a special bond with Andreeva
Andreeva began working with former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez in the spring after forming a special bond.
“We clicked right away,” said Martinez, former coach of now-retired Slam winner Garbine Muguruza. “It’s like we’ve known each other for years.”
Andreeva spoke about her influence after defeating Aryna Sabalenka at this year’s French Open, while revealing an insight into her mentality on court. “I just see the game, I play where I want!” she said.
“I don’t have a plan. If I see a place, I get there. My coach and my coach, we ‘had a plan’ today, but I forgot during the match. He (Martinez) gave me great support. him by my side is an incredible advantage for me.”
Mirra & Andy
Andreeva is a big fan of Andy Murray and during his breakthrough at the Madrid Open, he claimed to be surprised to see the Scotsman in the player’s restaurant.
“When you sit here and take all the stars, like Andy Murray, you can see their faces,” Andreeva said. “She’s so beautiful in life. I’m sorry, she’s amazing.”
He congratulated Murray after winning the Challenger title in France ahead of the French Open, with the two-time Wimbledon champion responding to the text.
“He really answered me, so I’m very happy,” Andreeva said. “He said, ‘Thank you, and good luck at Roland Garros.’
Andreeva was asked what was better, reaching the Grand Slam semifinals or taking a photo with Murray?
“Both are good. It was a good moment at the beginning of the tournament because I had a gift. I, like, a retro camera. I, like, well, I had to do a lot of photos,” he said.
“I made a list with who I wanted to take a picture with. Of course, Andy, he was first on the list because, I mean, we had some interactions, but I didn’t have a photo with him. I was like: ‘Well, we have to fix that’ I saw him a few times before, but he was warm, he was eating.
“Then that day I saw him just talking to the team. I was like: ‘Well, he’s busy, no, no, no’. My coach was like: ‘No, you go, you do it, and after that we forget about it. So he pushed me towards him.
After Andreeva won from a match point down against Diane Parry in the third round of the Australian Open, Murray was quick to recognize her achievement.
“Andreeva is down 5-1 in the third,” he wrote in X. “Commentator, ‘She really needs to work on the mental side of her game, she was too hard on herself when she lost.’ 30 minutes later, 7-6 Andreeva won.
“Perhaps the reason he plays a round of matches is because of his mental strength. Maybe he turns the match around because he is so tough and demands more of himself when he loses/plays badly? Winner.”
What are his chances at Wimbledon?
Andreeva qualified and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon on her tournament debut last summer
Her signature backhand down the line proved to be equally formidable on grass courts last year when she stormed through qualifying before her run ended in controversy in the fourth round against Madison Keys.
Andreeva, who has been trying to become the youngest player since Anna Kournikova in 1997 to enter the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, quickly left the court that had previously attracted the attention of fans with an extraordinary performance.
She may have shown her moments of petulance but Andreeva is a year older and wiser and a good draw for world number 23 could see her close to another piece of history at the All England Club.
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