FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
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March 1, 2025,
Every year there is talk of the new very young sensation to watch.
Every year many succumb to the pressure and fail the great expectations but, then again, a few surpass them.
This year the focus is Mirra Andreeva.
What is her status?
She is surpassing expectations. Take a look.
As reported on February 28, 2025, by tennishead.net, “Mirra Andreeva became the youngest WTA 1000 champion in history, winning the tournament in Dubai.”
Now, that is what you call exceeding expectations.
This was not some tournament where few major stars show up. The train ride to her title fight was not easy. She had to defeat both Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina in the second half of the event.
Okay, what is the significance of the great WTA 1000 tournaments?
The WTA 1000 tournaments are a category of tennis tournaments on the WTA Tour, governed by the Women’s Tennis Association.
The previous WTA Premier Mandatory and Premier 5 tournaments merged into a single highest tier implemented in the 2021 schedule reorganization.
When launched in 2021, the prize money for winning a WTA 1000 tournament was approximately $1,000,000.
This has since risen to almost $9,000,000 at some tournaments as of 2024.
The ranking points awarded to the winners of these tournaments are 1,000. This compares to 2,000 points for winning a Grand Slam tournament (“major”), up to 1,500 points for winning the WTA Finals, 500 points for winning a WTA 500 tournament, and 250 for winning a WTA 250 tournament.
Understood.
Great prize money. Given Mirra’s rise, she is starting to get her share.
At the mighty 2024 Australian Open, Mirra battled into the fourth round before she finally succumbed to the finalist, Aryna Sabalenka.
No shame there.
Time for a closer look at brilliance.
Mirra is a Russian professional tennis player who has been ranked as high as world No. 9 in singles, achieved on February 24, 2025, and in doubles of world No. 28, reached on February 17, 2025.
Our rising star has won two WTA Tour singles titles, including a WTA 1000 event at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships, and achieved her best major result at the 2024 French Open by reaching the semifinals at the age of 17.
Applause please.
She also won an Olympic silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in women’s doubles.
Very impressive.
That was an update. From time to time we present articles that have sitting in our vault, unpublished, and once a player’s star begins to rise, we publish it. Early on, we saw her potential.
Here is the unpublished article from a year ago, that speaks to that.
April 1, 2024,
A sweet sixteen is a coming-of-age party celebrating a girl’s 16th birthday, mainly celebrated in some parts of the United States and Canada.
When it comes to tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva, this young luminary is being celebrated around the world.
For good reason.
Mirra is a Russian professional tennis player.
Our luminary has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of No. 33, achieved recently on February 12, 2024.
She made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2022 Jasmin Open, after receiving a wildcard for the singles event.
In part, here is how it all began. Her rise is 2023 was amazing.
At 15 years of age, ranked No. 194, Andreeva received a wildcard into the main draw of the WTA 1000 Madrid Open and won her first WTA Tour match against Leylah Fernandez.
You remember Leylah, right?
She was a finalist at the 2021 US Open.
With this victory, Mirra became the third youngest player to win a main-draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament, behind only Coco Gauff and CiCi Bellis.
Moreover, Mirra was only the second 15-year-old to defeat a top-50 opponent at a WTA 1000 tournament, with Bellis being the first in 2015.
Next, she defeated 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, for her first top-20 win, to reach the third round, becoming the seventh youngest player to defeat a top-20 opponent before the age of 16 in the 21st century.
Yes, you may applaud.
On her 16th birthday, she recorded her 16th professional win against another top-20 player, 17th seed Magda Linette, to reach the round of 16. As a result, Mirra moved more than 50 positions up into the top 150 of the rankings on 8 May 2023, at world No. 146.
Now, ready for the big show.
Ranked No. 143, Mirra made her Grand Slam debut at the French Open, qualifying for the main draw and then defeating Alison Riske-Amritraj in the first round to record her first Major win.
Next, she defeated wildcard Diane Parry to reach the third round for the first time at a Grand Slam.
As a result, she became the youngest player to reach this milestone since 15 year old Sesil Karatancheva in 2005 and the seventh player in the past 30 years to reach this stage at Roland Garros before turning 17.
Despite winning the first set, Andreeva lost to sixth seed and eventual quarterfinalist, Coco Gauff, in the third round.
But there was still good news.
She moved more than 40 positions up in the WTA rankings, one spot shy of the top 100, on June 12, 2023.
We have to keep reminding ourselves, what makes these accomplishments rare and wonderful is that Mirra is currently only 16 years old.
What were you doing when you were 16?
Was it sweet?
2023 continued to be sweet for Mirra.
She made her main-draw debut at Wimbledon after qualifying. Mirra reached the third round, defeating Wang Xiyu and tenth seed Barbora Krejčíková by retirement for the biggest win of her career.
Next, she defeated 22nd seed and fellow Russian, Anastasia Potapova, to reach the fourth round, becoming the youngest player since Coco Gauff in 2019 to reach this milestone at the All England Club.
Big victories lead to big rewards.
As a result, she rose in the rankings into the top 70.
At the 2923 US Open, Andreeva won her first-round match, before falling in the second round to the eventual champion Coco Gauff.
Still, she reached a new career-high of No. 57 on September 11, 2023.
2023 was an incredible year.
2024 is about to get even better.
At the Brisbane International, Mirra won her first three matches to reach her first WTA quarterfinal, taking out the fourth seed and top 20 player, Liudmila Samsonova, and wildcard Arina Rodionova along the way.
Brilliant.
At the 2024 Australian Open she defeated Bernarda Pera and next sixth seed Ons Jabeur, her first top-10 win, to reach the third round on her debut at this major.
Now for the history books.
At age 16 and 263 days, Mirra was the youngest player in the Open Era to hand a top-10 seed a first-set bagel at a Grand Slam tournament. She was also the second-youngest player in the Open Era to lose fewer than three games against a top-10 seed at a major.
Previously, the youngest was Jelena Dokic, when she defeated world No. 1, Martina Hingis, in the first round of 1999 Wimbledon.
We can only guess how the Swiss Miss Martina reacted to that.
Mirra’s 2024 Australian Open success would continue.
In the third round, proving she has the fortitude and determination to make a comeback, Mirra defeated Diane Parry after trailing 1–5 in the final set and saving a match point on her own serve at 2–5.
Mirra won in a nail biting tie-breaker.
Most important, she was the fourth player in the last 30 years to reach the fourth round in singles before turning 17 at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open after Martina Hingis, Tatiana Golovin and Coco Gauff.
We still find it hard to believe that she is only sixteen.
Well, after winning the Super Bowl, where do most Super Bowl MVPs travel to next? Come on, that’s easy. Disneyland.
In tennis, after Mirra’s incredible 2024 success, where did she travel to? It’s in Oregon.
Yes, Nike.
As reported by tennis.com, “Fast-rising Mirra Andreeva took an “unforgettable” detour on her way home from Indian Wells, as she recently stopped by the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. for a day with the sports apparel giant.”
Talk about friends in high places.
So you see, Mirra is so sensational, even at just sixteen, she is being followed and celebrated around the world.
What is so fascinating is, obviously she is just getting started. Do we see a Grand Slam victory in her future? It is not about if, but when.
Once Mirra begins to reach her full potential?
That will be really sweet.
~ ~ ~
OPENING PHOTO Shutterstock-Victor-Velter-photo-credit-Editorial-use fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Hameltion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTA_1000_tournaments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirra_Andreeva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_sixteen_(birthday)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirra_Andreeva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leylah_Fernandez
https://www.tennis.com/baseline/articles/watch-mirra-andreeva-spends-unforgettable-day-nike-headquarters-ahead-miami-open
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
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