- Andreeva reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, beating Diane Parry
- She had beaten 16 top 20 players by the time she turned 16 in April of last year
- The Russian received a good luck message from Murray prior to French Open
Tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva has lit the world alight following her wins against Ons Jabeur and Diane Perry in the Australian Open.
The 16-year-old awaits Barbora Krejčíková in the fourth round to continue this amazing sporting story.
But it appears not all has been plain sailing after she was forced to resort to this method to rile herself up.
After coming back from a set down, Andreeva found herself 2-0 down in the deciding set to Parry.
To try and motivate herself, she bit her arm after hitting the net with a returning shot.
After hitting her return against Diane Perry into the net Mirra Andreeva was furious
To take out the anger, she bit her arm in anger and it appeared to help after she won the match
The tactic did seem to work, however, as she completed a remarkable turnaround to win the match. Although we’re not sure we’d recommend it to everyone.
Born on April 27 2007, Andreeva doesn’t turn 17 for another three months, yet has already achieved so much in the game.
Having been born in Russia, Andreeva now resides in Cannes, France, with her sister, fellow professional Eirka Andreeva, who is 19.
Both players were born in Krasnoyarsk, but moved to Moscow for training, before residing in Cannes and practicing at the Elite Tennis Centre in the city.
Following her win over Jabeur, who she described as an inspiration, Andreeva explained how she is starting a new year at school. ‘I still don’t like chemistry,’ she told reporters. ‘I still have to do a lot of school. It actually started two days ago, so I have to do it.’
Having taken up tennis as a child, Andreeva turned pro in 2022, making her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the Jasmin Open.
Born on April 27 2007, Andreeva doesn’t turn 17 for another three months but she is already a superstar
Aged 15 and ranked 194, she won her first Tour match at the Madrid Open, beating Leylah Fernandez to become the third youngest player to win a main-draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament.
By the age of 16, Andreeva had won 16 professional matches against top 20 players. She made her Grand Slam debut at the French Open later that year, reaching the third round and entering the top 100 in the rankings.
She made headlines during her run at Wimbledon 2023, reaching the fourth round after victories against Wang Xiyu, Barbora Krejcikova and then Anastasia Potapova.