Teenager Mirra Andreeva continues to shock the tennis world, brushing aside Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur in the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday night.
Her rise up the rankings has been impressive. From taking Wimbledon by storm, to setting up another historical run down under on Tuesday, what the 16-year-old can go onto achieve in tennis can only be imagined.
She’s a confident teenager who has been fined for smashing her racket, has made fans laugh with her one-liners and has beaten some of the best players in the world along the way.
But who is Mirra Andreeva? Where was she born? What has her tennis career been like so far?
Mail Sport has the answers.
16-year-old Mirra Andreeve is continuing to take the tennis world by storm at the ongoing Australian Open
She beat Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur in straight sets to reach the third round of the competition on Tuesday
Who is Andreeva?
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.’
Born in April 2007 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Andreeva doesn’t turn 17 for another three months
She now resides in Cannes, France, with her sister, fellow professional player Eirka Andreeva
Family life
Clearly, Andreeva has a close relationship with her sister.
In the past, she has revealed that her mother pushed her into tennis rather than her love for the game. ‘Actually, I didn’t pick this sport. My mum did,’ she told the WTA last season. ‘I’m really happy that my mum picked this sport because I feel that I really belong to this sport.’
The youngster’s mother is named Raisa, and she got into tennis tennis after watching Marat Safin compete at the 2005 Australian Open. Both Raisa and Andreeva’s father are of Russian descent.
Erika, meanwhile, is ranked 130 in the world and is yet to get past the first round in a Grand Slam tournament on the WTA tour. She reached the third qualifying round of this year’s Australian Open.
Her tennis career so far
Having taken up tennis as a child, Andreeva turned pro in 2022, making her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the Jasmin Open.
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.
Andreeva had won 16 professional matches against top 20 players by the time she turned 16
She was fined £8,000 at last year’s Wimbledon – where she reached the third round – for throwing her racket and refusing to shake the umpire’s hand
Her witty responses to questions about her age got fans onside, and she’s not afraid to show her emotions, either, being fined £8,000 for throwing her racket in the second and third sets of and refusing to shake the umpire’s hand after her fourth round loss to Madison Keys.
In total she has earned nearly £650,000 in prize money. She is coached by Jean-Rene Lisnard, and currently plays doubles with Viktoriya Tomova, but the pair lost in straight sets to Anna Blinkova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Tuesday in the first round of the Australian Open.
‘The dream?’ Andreeva said at Wimbledon last year. ‘I know that [Novak] Djokovic, he did 22 Grand Slams or 23, so I want to go until 25, if it will be possible. I don’t know.’
Andreeva was left speechless by Andy Murray at Wimbledon last year when she met the Scot, who is her idol
…and her idol Andy Murray!
Andreeva is a confident character, but it’s her idol, Andy Murray, who makes her lose her composure.
‘I met Andy Murray here,’ she said after her second round win over Barbora Krejcíkova at Wimbledon. ‘But I’m too shy to talk to him.
‘When I see him, I try to leave the facility super quick just to not to talk to him because I’m super shy!’
After Murray’s Aix-en-Provence ATP Challenger title in May last year, Andreeva revealed she text the Scot to offer her congratulations.
‘I said congratulations,’ she said. ‘He actually answered me, so I was really happy about it. He said thank you, and good luck in Roland Garros. Maybe that’s why I’m playing that good now.’
