After the end of the tennis season, it’s time to present awards. The WTA, while rewarding all the worthy, could not ignore the incredible progress of 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva. The Russian made a powerful debut at the senior level, thanks to which she was put on a par with Maria Sharapova and the Williams sisters.

Phenomenal season

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has announced the 2023 Rookie of the Year Award. Previously, this award was received by Martina Hingis, Venus and Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Arina Sabalenka, among others. Now the time has come for Russian Mirra Andreeva, who has had a simply phenomenal season, to enter the elite club. The 16-year-old tennis player beat out American Peyton Stearns, Czech Linda Noskova and two more representatives of our country – Diana Schneider and Elina Avanesyan – in the fight for the prestigious prize.

It is unlikely that the choice of the WTA causes any misunderstanding. Mirra has truly made incredible progress. The Russian started the year at 405th position in the WTA rankings, and in November reached 46th position. In the current ranking, Andreeva can see a slight decline – 57th place. But this does not in any way negate the fact that our tennis player had a strong season.

A year ago, Andreeva was simply a promising tennis player, but whether she would be able to realize her potential was impossible to say with certainty. At the beginning of 2023, the tennis player made some noise at the junior Australian Open, reaching the final, and a few months later she was already shining at the adult level. First there was a series of victories at ITF tournaments, and then it came to local success at Grand Slam tournaments.

Mirra Andreeva / Photo: © Rob Prange/DPPI/IPA Sport/Keystone Press Agency/Global Look Press

“Deserved this award”

At the French Open, Andreeva made her way through qualification. On the way to the big tournament, the Russian woman had to defeat three rivals, including seed leader Camila Osorio from Colombia. In the main draw, Mirra’s participation was not limited to one match: she reached the third round, where she even managed to take a set from the sixth racket of the tournament, American Cori Gauff.

Wimbledon turned out to be even more successful for Andreeva. We also had to make our way there through qualifications, and at the tournament itself, our young star managed to reach the fourth round, knocking out the Chinese Xia Wang, Czech Barbora Krejcikova and another Russian Anastasia Potapova.

In fact, each victory in itself was a sensation. As a result, it turned out that Mirra repeated the record of world tennis legend Maria Sharapova. Apart from two Russian athletes, in the 21st century no one else has reached the fourth round of the Wimbledon tournament under the age of 17.

— Mirra deserved this award. From childhood, she emerged into a group of professional tennis players who are reckoned with. She was able to score several victories over high-level players, even top ten players. Of course, this may be some kind of advance, but an advance that will give her faith that she can achieve what she plays for,” noted Honored Master of Sports of the USSR Anna Dmitrieva in an interview with RIA Novosti Sport.

It can also be noted that last season Andreeva managed to beat four tennis players who were in the top 20 of the WTA rankings. Perhaps, the only thing missing so far is significant titles, but Mirra has everything to fix this, and already in the next season.