The new child prodigy also causes a sensation at Roland Garros

He won his first fifteen professional matches of the season, having been a junior Australian Open finalist. ITF champion of Chiaso and Bellinzona, both with a prize of $60,000, the Mutua Madrid Open offered an invitation to her main draw to this young Russian who turned 16 while causing a sensation in the Caja Mágica.

In a WTA 1000, the highest category of the professional circuit with the exception of the Grand Slams, Mirra Andreeva maintained her invincible streak by defeating the Canadian Leylah Fernandez49ª WTA, Beatriz Hadad-Maia14ª, y Magda Linette, 19th. The little Russian only yielded, in the round of 16, to the overwhelming power of the one who later won the event, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.

IMG, a company that represents its interests, helped its premiere in the Spanish capital since it has run the competition since it bought the rights to Ion Tiriac.

But the little one Andreeva She also knows how to defend herself, without protection. She has arrived at Roland Garros to continue to focus the eyes. She has earned a spot in the main draw by dominating all three meetings in straight sets.

Mirra occupies the 143rd place in the world ranking. Her older sister Erika, 18, is behind him (147th). Both come from Siberia, a vast territory from which Maria Sharapova. Like this one, they left their native Krasnoyark to look for a more conducive place to progress in tennis. Their first stop was Sochi, but then they opted for Europe and not the United States.

They meditated going to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, opted for the French Riviera, following the same path as Daniil Medvedev. They ended up at the beginning of 2022 in the Elite Tennis Cannes run by the former ATP professional Jean-Rene Lisnard. Collaborate in the training of the technician Christophe Faurel.

Mirra presents a balance of 20-2 this course. At 16 years and 1 month old, she would have the option of being the youngest champion of Roland Garros, although she does not appear in any forecast. Yes, she reigned with 16 years and 6 months Monica Selesin 1990, beating the record he had set in 1989 Arantxa Sánchez, with 17 years and 5 months. Younger, at 15, the Swiss Martina Hingis He was already triumphing at Wimbledon.

The figure of the child prodigy had moderated somewhat lately, although there is the recent case of the American Coco Gauff.

She likes clay because she compares her tennis to that of the talented Tunisian Our Jabeur. “I change my pace a lot, I play topspin, I do a lot of drop shots,” she tells WTA Insider.

A no-holds-barred girl. “The level of tennis with the best is similar, the difference is in the mentality,” she says.

Shows determination, competitiveness. Lack, logically, the experience. She did not even have a WTA ranking fourteen months ago. She made a place for herself in the main draw in Paris, beating the Colombian camila osorio 7-6 (8) y 6-4.

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