Future world number one? Sixteen-year-old Russian tennis player destroys one opponent after another

Mira Andreeva. She’ll remember that name. She may very well be the future queen of the WTA rankings. At the age of 16, she’s already beating the world’s best.

In January 2023, Mira Andreeva of Russia played in the final of the Junior Australian Open. She lost to her compatriot Korneeva after sets 7:6, 4:6 and 5:7. Six months later, however, the two tennis players are in very different positions.

Alina Korneeva continues to play junior Grand Slam tournaments, while Mira Andreeva has been winning important scalps on the WTA circuit. She first made her presence felt in April at the Madrid tournament.

On clay in the Spanish capital, she defeated Fernandez, Haddad Mai and Linette in succession. She was only stopped in the eighth round by Aryna Sabalenka, who won 6:3 and 6:1.

The 2007-born tennis player convinced everyone that this was not just one successful tournament at the French Open, where she successfully qualified. Moreover, she didn’t lose a single set.

She won two more matches in the main draw. She delivered a dominant performance as she lost only six games in total. In the third round, she fell to Coco Gauff, the seventh player in the WTA rankings.

Andreeva also qualified for Wimbledon. In addition, she defeated Wang, Krejcikova and Potapova at the top of the grass season. On Monday, she will face an eight-final duel with Madison Keys, in which she will definitely not be without a chance to advance.

In the upcoming edition of the WTA rankings, she will move up to 64th position, which will be her career high. But if she brings Monday’s contest to a victorious end, she would even reach the elite 50.

Not surprisingly, the Russian is ranked No. 1 in the U18 rankings (Brenda Fruhvirt is second). If her progress doesn’t stop, there is a huge chance that she will become world number one in the future.

It can be expected that she will continue to climb up the rankings in the coming months, as unlike her rivals she does not have to defend points from last year.

Source: WTA, Livesport