Wimbledon quarter finalist Mirra Andreeva is a tennis prodigy, with her parents relocating from Russia to France in an attempt to allow her to pursue of dream of turning professional
Teenage tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva has reached the quarter finals of Wimbledon, with £3million in prize money waiting for the winner of the women’s title. The 18-year-old is already a seriously high earner – Mirra won the prestigious Indian Wells tournament in California, United States, this March, netting her a cool £869,000.
The Russian is the youngest player since Caroline Wozniacki to achieve ten or more major wins in a year. She also became only the fourth women’s player in the 21st century to reach the round of 16 at the first three Grand Slams of a season before turning 19.
Despite her massive success at such a young age, Mirra’s first purchase with her Indian Wells prize money was a very modest one – she spent £76 on a Mona Lisa Lego set. She didn’t even buy it herself – until she turned 18 on April 29, Mirra’s father managed her bank account.
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The tennis prodigy was raised by Raisa and Alexander Andreeva, who relocated from their home town of Krasnoyarsk to Moscow and then to France when Mirra and her older sister Erika showed promise at the sport. “I didn’t pick this sport. My mom did,” Mirra told the World Tennis Association of playing from an early age. “I’m really happy that my mom picked this sport because I feel that I really belong to this sport.”
The teenager turned professional in 2023 and made her WTA breakthrough on clay at the Madrid Open, reaching the third round. She was then knocked out in the third round and now in the top 100 in the world’s rankings, she declared her dream in tennis was to “win 25 grand slam titles”.
Well on the way to becoming a well known player, the then 16-year-old described how she has been starstruck to see Andy Murray in the player’s restaurant at the Madrid Open. “When you sit here and take in all the stars, like Andy Murray, you see his face,” said Mirra. “He is so beautiful in life. Sorry, he is so amazing.”
Andreeva later congratulated Murray after he won a Challenger title in France ahead of the French Open Roland Garros, with the two-time Wimbledon champion responding to the text. “He actually answered me, so I was really happy about it,” she said.
“He said: ‘Thank you and good luck in Roland Garros’.” Andreeva reached the third round of the Grand Slam and called Murray her “good luck charm”.
Known for her fearless, attacking style and wearing her heart on her sleeve, she went onto caused controversy at Wimbledon that year after she refused to shake the umpire’s hand after being given a points penalty in her fourth round loss. “She didn’t do a right decision for me.” she said. “That’s why I didn’t want to shake hands to her.”
Nevertheless, the player had seriously impressed with her performances on grass at the tournament, which incredibly were her first professional matches on grass. Two years on from turning pro, she is ranked 7th in the world.