16-year-old Mirra Andreeva, without batting an eyelid, blows more experienced and titled rivals off the court and soars to the top of the WTA rating with space speed. The English press read her “absolute greatness”, and the fans call the new Sharapova. And indeed, our girls have not achieved such a powerful start in adult tennis since the time of Maria.

True, Russian fans did not have time to rejoice at the appearance of a phenomenal young tennis player, as enthusiastic hopes were under threat.

Mirra broke into the tour so brightly that she immediately became the object of attention of other countries and … gross provocations.

Mirra Andreeva / Photo: © REUTERS / Toby Melville

Sports fans who mainly follow tennis at the Grand Slam tournaments learned about Mirra Andreeva only this spring. The 16-year-old Russian woman updated several records at once at a major tournament in Madrid, where she made it to the ⅛ finals. Mirra soon passed through the qualifying sieve at Roland Garros, where she then reached the third round.

Painlessly moving from the ground to the grass, Andreeva was able to make some noise at Wimbledon. Starting again from the qualification, the girl who does not recognize authorities in the main draw sequentially removed the Chinese Wang Xia, the Czech Barbora Kreychikova and the Russian Anastasia Potapova from her path. Mirra was also close to a sensational entry into the quarterfinals, but leading 6:3, 3:0, she lost.

As a result, Mirra in just two months from the 312th line of the ranking rose to the 65th, securing a place at the heart of most tournaments and forcing people to talk about herself as the heiress of Sharapova and the potential leader of women’s tennis for many years to come.

Photo: © Clive Brunskill / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Naturally, a tennis player with such potential is not against seeing her under her flag in any country in the world. Especially in France, where the native of Krasnoyarsk has been living and training with her sister Erika for the past few years. In this context, the message of the Tennis World USA portal about Mirra’s intention to change citizenship to French looked disappointing, but at the same time logical. Adding credibility to this rumor is the story of another Russian tennis player, Varvara Gracheva, who this season just passed under the flag of France.

The reaction of Andreeva’s team followed immediately. The tennis player’s agent Lev Kassil denied the information about the change of citizenship, saying that Mirra would continue to play for Russia. At the same time, according to the President of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpishchev, French officials are working hard with Mirra’s parents, inducing them to apply for French citizenship for their daughter. So the news from Tennis World USA can be regarded as a provocation against a talented Russian athlete.

It is important to understand here that this is not only about the potentially best tennis player in the world, but also about the future world sports star, who can become an independent brand. The decision to change citizenship will significantly reduce the Russian market for Andreeva. What can I say if, even after unverified rumors, many were quick to call a 16-year-old girl a traitor and convict her of a lack of patriotism?

Mirra Andreeva / Photo: © Mike Hewitt / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

In general, the vast majority of top Russian players have lived and continue to live abroad. It is easier in terms of logistics, and the conditions for training in Spain, France or the UAE are better than in Russia. At the same time, only a few decide to change citizenship. Given that Russian tennis players are not deprived of the opportunity to play on the international stage, there is practically no point in this. So in the case of Andreeva, we can hope that she will continue the great traditions of our women’s tennis, playing for Russia.