Meet Mirra Andreeva, the 16-year-old Russian tennis star at Wimbledon

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Six months ago, Mirra Andreeva lost to her best friend and doubles partner Alina Korneeva in the Juniors final of the Australian Open.

He says that he cried for more than a week after losing in a match that lasted a mammoth three hours and 18 minutes.

Since then, he has climbed more than 200 places in the world rankings thanks to back-to-back title wins in 60,000 events in Switzerland, a stunning run at the Madrid Masters and reaching the third round of the French Open. The 16-year-old Russian has now done the same at Wimbledon.

There is a buzz wherever he goes. After winning her first-round match late on Wednesday, she was stopped outside Center Court for selfies and autographs, and it was a similar sight when she swept past 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova on Thursday.

He’s going into the third round and wants to get out of Center Court. He went there on the first day and took 15 pictures with his phone. You get the impression that it won’t be long before the schedules fulfill Andreeva’s wish.

A month ago, he had never even played on the grass. Andreeva, who was absent a year ago due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, arrived a week before the qualifiers began this summer to practice at the nearby Raynes Park court. It was organized by Hannah Klugman, the coach of the 14-year-old British talent.

In the first practice, I fell three times, Andreeva said during qualifying. It’s quite difficult for me to get used to the grass, the movement is different, the ball bounces differently, the grass is slippery. It seems a bit slow, but I think it’s ok. I try to make small steps and still feel dangerous on the field. As we can see, it is doing quite well at the moment.

The same is true in the main series. After beating China’s Wang Xiyu in the first round, she completely dominated the second round against Krejcikova, leading 6–3, 4–0 before her opponent had to retire with a leg injury. He has been dominant on serve at Wimbledon so far, winning 20 of 21 service games and saving nine of 10 break points.

Which brings us to Netflix. They have been filming Andreeva for their tennis documentary, Break Point, since she was impressive in Paris. Not that Andreeva is at all embarrassed by the cameras.

They just follow me and are all very nice people, he said. If I don’t want to shoot something in a day, they’re cool with it. For example, yesterday (Tuesday) I was very nervous (before his win against Xiyu). In the warm-up, I felt a little uncomfortable, a little stressed, so we told them it might not be a good time for this. They were cool with it. They just left. They gave me space.

I didn’t feel that comfortable before, but now I like it.

Her rise has been remarkable since she shone in Madrid in May, when she was still just 15. After receiving a wildcard in Switzerland on the back of her title, she beat 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and tournament 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. She then beat another top 20 player, Magda Linette. On his 16th birthday, it was his 16th win of 2023 as he made Madrid’s 16.

Everything has been very neat and tidy so far and you can say the same about his game. He serves well, is strong on both sides. Court 4 had some fantastic backhand winners against Krejcikova and she is happy hitting the ball from deep. In this respect, he was compared to his compatriot, the men’s world number one, Daniil Medvedev.

(Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

When asked to describe the game earlier this year, he said: You don’t have to play fast because I’m pretty good at keeping a fast rhythm and I can compare my game maybe to Ons Jabeur because I change the rhythm a lot, I play with topspin. , he said. I also make a lot of shots and change the rhythm.

She and her older sister Erika, also a top 200 player, started playing back home in Siberia before moving to Sochi to get proper training. From there, the Andreeva sisters moved to Cannes, in the south of France, to be coached by Jean-Rene Lisnard and Jean-Christophe Faurel. Medvedev had also trained in Cannes, and it was a clear tie for the siblings, who chose between Cannes and the Rafa Nadal Academy in Majorca, Spain.

Mirra has said in the past that she and Erika, 19 and ranked 149th in the world, deliberately avoid talking about tennis off the court and have not played a set against each other in four years. Both very competitive, instead they play card games like Uno and table tennis.

When asked what has changed on and off the court since his loss at the Australian Open juniors in January, he has made a conscious decision to take the pressure off himself.

I realized that actually tennis is a hard sport, but also if you watch it, you just play. It’s just a game. I guess I’m trying to take it as a game now, and maybe that’s why. I’m just trying to play. I’m just trying to enjoy it. I’m just trying to win as many points as I can. I’m just trying to run to every ball and field as many balls as I can.

(Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Andreeva is down-to-earth, but her talent is obvious, and she’s winning more fans every day at the super-beautiful, super-traditional Wimbledon. He also has a budding friendship with two-time champion and home favorite Andy Murray, although until now this has been done through interviews and social media posts about each other.

After seeing him in Madrid, he told the Tennis Channel: When you’re here and have lunch with all these stars; you see Andy Murray, you see his face and he’s so beautiful in life, he’s so amazing.

His response? Imagine how good he will be when he gets his eyes fixed.

Murray has sent encouraging messages since then, but Andreeva says she is still too scared to talk to him. When I see him, I try to leave the facility very quickly so I don’t talk to him because I’m very shy.

Five wins out of five in grass matches, he’s gaining confidence every round.

Next, he might even work up the courage to speak to Murray.

(Top photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)