Mirra Andreeva has made an excellent start to her career (Image: Getty)
Mirra Andreeva, who was once told that she needed her “eyes fixed” after labelling “beautiful”, has had quite the remarkable rise to stardom in the world of . At just 17 years old, the Russian star finds herself ranked 16th in the world and has already broken the £2million mark for career earnings.
Andreeva made her debut at the 2022 Jasmin Open through a wildcard for the singles event, and since being knocked out by Anastasia Potapova in the very first round, she has gone on to achieve remarkable things in the sport. She won her first career title in 2024 by defeating Alina Avanesyan in the finals of the Iasi Open in July before bagging a silver medal at the alongside Diana Shnaider in the doubles.
As a new tennis season dawns, Andreeva is currently testing herself at the Brisbane International. After making light work of Anna Blinkova in the round of 32, and dispatching Linda Noskova in the following stage, she finds herself pitted up against in the quarter-finals of the tournament on Friday (January 3).
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But what do we know about the young tennis sensation as she prepares for her first Grand Slam of the year at the ? Here, Express Sport take a look.
Admiration for Andy Murray
Andreeva has never shied away from showering tennis legend Murray with an abundance of praise. She admitted that when she met him at her breakthrough Madrid Open appearance in 2023, even going as far as branding the three-time Grand Slam winner as her “good luck charm” during the third round of the French Open the same year after he wished her well via a text message.
In hilarious fashon, Andreeva took to after she bowed out of the latter tournament to share a photo carousel of snaps from her time in Paris – one of which was a candid selfie in front of Murray as he chatted to a group in the background, with fans cracked up by the instance.
Andreeva enjoyed a stellar 2024 (Image: Getty)
One fan wrote: “Lmaooooo this pic is sending me. Mirra Andreeva officially the leader of Murraynation.” While another added: “She’s just like us. The new people’s princess if you ask me!” A third joked: “Poor Andy, dealing with a crazy stalker. Should get a restraining order.” And a fourth praised: “She’s so real and iconic.”
Murray’s joke
In a hilarious showing of rapport, Murray also once after the young star paid him a very generous compliment. When asked about her experience of the 2023 Madrid Open, Andreeva explained: “It’s just the atmosphere here is so special.
“When you are here and you take lunch with all these stars… You see and you see his face, he’s so beautiful in real life. He is so amazing. The atmosphere to be here amongst all these players is just incredible.” Never one to resist the opportunity of quick wit, Murray took to social media to share a clip of Andreeva’s comments, sharing: “Imagine how good she’s going to be when she gets her eyes fixed [laughing emoji].”
Framed tweet
At the Australian Open of 2024, Andreeva learned that Murray had took to social media to praise her mental strength in a heartfelt post on X – vowing to print the message out and put it in a frame. Murray’s message read: “Andreeva down 5-1 in third. Commentator ‘she really needs to work on mental side of her game.. she’s too hard on herself when she’s losing’ 30 minutes later 7-6 Andreeva wins.
“Maybe the reason she turned the match round is because of her mental strength. Maybe she turned the match around because she is hard on herself and demands more of herself when she’s losing/playing badly? Winner.” And while many would have assumed that Andreeva was joking when she made the claim, she explained how she had followed through with it at the Madrid Open months later.
Speaking to Prakash Amritraj at the Tennis Channel Desk, she said: “When I said I would put his comment in a frame, I actually have a frame now with his comment inside. It was a gift from my friend, and it’s always with me in my bag. So, when I said that, I was not joking: I did it for real!”
Andreeva looks up to her idol Andy Murray (Image: Getty)
Legendary coach
Andreeva’s rise to fame has been helped massively by tennis legend Conchita Martinez, who works as the youngster’s coach. A three-time Olympic medallist, Martinez enjoyed an illustrious career of her own before retiring from the game at the age of 33 in 2006 with a single title to her name.
Since hanging up her racket, Martinez has moved into the world of coaching with hopes of passing on her know-how to the next generation of tennis stars. And the move seems to have paid dividends for Andreeva. Speaking after her recent win over Noskova in Brisbane, she explained: “Thanks to Conchita, I guess. She helped me improve so thanks to her.
“I know that sometimes it’s not easy to work with me, but well, I think she’s doing a good so far. Sometimes could be better as well, but she’s okay.” The camera then panned to Martinez, who was smiling from the sidelines at Andreeva’s words of praise.
Andreeva came close to winning doubles gold in Paris but lost in the final (Image: Getty)
Tennis earnings
According to the official WTA website, Andreeva is ranked 16th courtesy of a record of 109 wins and 34 losses in the singles game. With a sole singles title to her name, it is reported that the youngster has racked up an impressive £2.1m ($2,700,947) in terms of career prize money.
Meanwhile, in the doubles game, Andreeva is ranked 68th by the organisation – and has a record of 16 wins and 16 losses. Andreeva’s best Grand Slam finish came in the form of a semi-final spot in the 2024 , where she was ultimately bested 6-3, 6-1 by Jasmine Paolini – and fans will be looking forward to big things from the star in 2025.