CAN ANYONE STOP THE RISE OF MIRRA ANDREEVA?

There were no such problems for Mirra Andreeva to open up her 2025 French Open account. (Getty/Robert Prange)

Rewind 12 months ago, Mirra Andreeva made the biggest statement of her young career, charging through the draw at Roland-Garros to the semi-finals.

The prodigious talent had been on the radar of many keen tennis observers before her success in Paris. Still, unsurprisingly, a run to the final four of a Grand Slam elevated her status in the tennis world to perhaps the most promising young player on the planet.

Aged just 17 at the time, Andreeva became the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist since Martina Hingis at the 1997 US Open.

Andreeva beat Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals to achieve her career-best result, but was bested by Jasmine Paolini at the second-last hurdle.

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Nonetheless, Andreeva had set a standard that would be difficult for any player, let alone a teenager, to sustain.

Yet one year on, the Russian has not only maintained her quality of results, but taken several strides forward, becoming arguably the best player on the WTA Tour this season.

Booking a date against unseeded American Ashlyn Krueger in the second-round in Paris, is there any way to halt this teen sensation's momentum?

A promising start

Andreeva had already achieved several impressive feats in her career prior to last year's Roland-Garros, having reached the second week at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open. 

Still so young, Andreeva was unable to rely on overpowering opponents for her early career success, instead demonstrating an almost unrivalled tennis IQ to pick apart bigger and stronger foes. Executing a game style which thrived on unpredictability, variety and discomfort for opponents, Andreeva achieved success from the moment she stepped out of the juniors and into the elite level of competition.

Aged 15, Andreeva received a wildcard into the 2023 Madrid Open, defeating former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, Beatriz Haddad-Maia and Magda Linette en route to a remarkable fourth-round appearance in her WTA 1000 debut.

Andreeva was voted WTA Newcomer of the Year that same season, but would fare even better in 2024, reaching the quarter-finals in Madrid, Cincinnati and Beijing, alongside deep runs at the Australian Open and Roland-Garros to finish the year ranked No.16.

Rising to the top

Having achieved so much at such a young age, one could have forgiven Andreeva had she failed to live up to the hype she had generated for herself.

Yet 2025 has proven to be her most successful season to date.

Working alongside coach Conchita Martínez, Andreeva has added serious power to her game, both in her serve and groundstrokes. Further improvements in her movement have maintained her status as one of the best defenders on tour, which, combined with her ever-present tennis intelligence, has made her a truly formidable opponent. 

Her 2025 results speak for themselves, highlighted by back-to-back WTA 1000 crowns in Dubai and Indian Wells. Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina and Ons Jabeur have all fallen prey to Andreeva's exceptional displays.

Now eyeing the site of her most impressive Grand Slam result, Roland-Garros, Andreeva is unsurprisingly one of the favourites to take home the title in Paris.

Can she be stopped?

Yet for all of the upside to the talented prodigy's game, she could not yet be described as unbeatable, including on her favoured clay surface.

Strikingly, Andreeva fell at the quarter-final stage of both Madrid and Rome, with Coco Gauff posing a challenge not even the Russian has been able to overcome. Gauff owns a 4-0 head-to-head against Andreeva, with their first meeting coming at the French Open two years ago.

The American possesses an almost unique ability to frustrate her teenage rival, wearing down the 18-year-old with her superior defensive skills. 

In an era of tennis where big hitting usually reigns supreme, Andreeva's game is well-suited to take down many of the best players going around. However, the alternative challenge posed by Gauff suggests Andreeva doesn't yet have it all figured out.

Andreeva has also lost to some harder, flatter hitters this season, namely Sabalenka, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova.

Clearly, then, despite her astronomical rise, Andreeva is not out of reach for the rest of the playing field – at least not yet.

But be wary of where she may take her game next; it seems like only a matter of time before Andreeva's name is engraved on the biggest trophies in tennis.

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