When an authoritative voice of tennis likens a young player to Martina Hingis, that young player has to be doing a lot right. Step forward 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, seeded for the first time at any Grand Slam this Wimbledon.
Twelve months ago the youngster put together a remarkable campaign at the All England Club, not only by coming through qualifying to earn a place in the main draw but then progressing all the way to the last 16 where Madison Keys required three sets to get past her. This time Andreeva is seeded No.24 following her breakthrough run to the semi-finals at Roland-Garros earlier this month.
“Andreeva does remind me of Martina Hingis,” says former British No.1 Annabel Croft, now a broadcaster who will commentate for the BBC this Fortnight. “She doesn’t have a lot of power but she makes up for it by being an incredibly intelligent match player. Her creative artistry, with court craft and an understanding of the angles on the court, mean she’s definitely one to look out for.”
She also seems to relish the biggest occasions, reaching the fourth round in Australia this year. But Roland-Garros was a significant leap forward, as she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight. By all means the No.2 seed was under the weather, but nonetheless Andreeva’s nerve held to get the job done.
It made her the youngest player to reach the last four of a Grand Slam since – ah yes – Martina Hingis at the 1996 US Open. Hingis, of course, went on to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish as a 16-year-old the following summer.
The signature of Andreeva’s 2023 All England Club campaign was her extraordinary composure. Against Keys she took the first set and had a point for 5-1 in the second, appearing blithely on course to become the youngest quarter-finalist at any Grand Slam since Sesil Karatantcheva at Roland-Garros two years before Andreeva was born.
Yet it is worth recalling how that match slipped away. When Keys levelled for one set all, Andreeva’s serenity cracked into frustration. She earned a warning for hurling her racket away, and during the decider could be seen crying openly.
The worst came at deuce in the final game, when she slipped on the baseline and appeared to throw her racket on to the turf again. At once umpire Louise Azemar Engzell called another warning, which of course this time meant a point penalty – match point.
As if that wasn’t drama enough, having seemingly sent down an unreturned serve to save that match point, the call was challenged and overturned. Andreeva’s second serve wasn’t up to the job, and Keys closed out the match.
No doubt Andreeva will have learned volumes from that experience. Yet even she is no exception to the rule that there are always younger competitors snapping at a player’s heels. In the first round at Wimbledon 2024, she will face the only woman in the draw born after her – world No.88 Brenda Fruhvirtova, her junior by 27 days.
Meanwhile, another aspect to Andreeva has drawn admiration.
“She has a really sunny personality,” says Annabel Croft. “During Roland-Garros especially, she gave some absolutely charming interviews.”
A particularly sweet clip went viral at that tournament. “Teleported in” from Paris to Eurosport’s London studio for a virtual face-to-face interview with presenter Barbara Schett, Andreeva could be heard murmuring “Wow!” as she looked about herself with open-mouthed amazement at the wonders of technology.
And of course she has a long-standing vibe going with her childhood idol Andy Murray. “You see his face and he’s so beautiful in life,” she declared in March last year, to which the Scot replied on Twitter/X: “Imagine how good she’s going to be when she gets her eyes fixed.”
During the Australian Open this year, again on X he praised her “mental strength”, which thrilled Andreeva so much that she vowed to frame it – no idle promise.
“I was not joking,” said Andreeva in April. “I did it for real. It’s always with me in my bag.”
Tennis voices with serious heft rate her, because even at 17 her achievements cannot be overlooked. At Wimbledon 2024, she’s an intriguing prospect.
