By Timothée Thomas-Collignon
Published 8 minutes ago, Updated 1 minute ago
Mirra Andreeva’s selfie after her victory against Ons Jabeur in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open. DAVID GRAY / AFP
Mirra Andreeva continues her meteoric rise in Melbourne. After a second part of the 2023 season full of promise, the young Russian is off to a strong start in 2024. Five things to know about this child prodigy.
She is 16 years old
As crazy as it sounds, Mirra Andreeva was born on April 29, 2007! However, the Russian nugget had already proven itself in 2023, at only 15 years old. After his victory against Ons Jabeur (6-0, 6-2) in the second round of the Australian Open, she admitted that she feels more mature. Resumed by the journalist “ but you are only 16“, she added, with a smile on her lips, “but last year I had 15».
Her sister is also on the WTA circuit
As good news never comes alone, her big sister Erika is also a professional player on the WTA circuit. At 19, Erika Andreeva is ranked 113th in the world and failed in the second round of qualifying in Melbourne this year. The two sisters notably won a doubles match together at the WTA 1000 in Madrid, where Mirra revealed herself in April 2023 (only beaten in the 1/8 finals by Aryna Sabalenka).
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She trains in the south of France
Since January 2022, Mirra Andreeva has been perfecting her tennis in the south of France. She first trained in Cannes, on the courts of the Elite Tennis Center, alongside Daniil Medvedev, Varvara Gracheva, Alexandre Müller and her sister Erika. Young Mirra now trains at the All In Academy in Villeneuve-Loubet, in the Alpes-Maritimes.
She idolizes Andy Murray
Mirra Andreeva has always been a fan of the Scot, until meeting him and… not daring to speak to him. It was at Wimbledon, and she recounted her meeting with the former world number 1 at a press conference: “ I saw Andy Murray here the other day, but I’m too shy to talk to him. When I saw him, I tried to leave the place as quickly as possible because I was too shy to go talk to him. Right now, thank God, he’s not talking to me. Maybe he’s already forgotten me, I don’t know. He’s so handsome in real life, it’s incredible.»
Also read: Tennis: where will Mirra Andreeva, 16-year-old prodigy, stop?
She came close to disqualification at Roland-Garros in 2023
Opposed to Coco Gauff in the third round of the French Open, Mirra Andreeva came close to being disqualified. While she had a set point in the first set (6-6, 6-4), the Russian got carried away by throwing a ball into the audience. “I immediately thought that I had made a big mistake, that this gesture was not necessary. I had to behave better” she regretted after the match in a press conference.
