The young talent of Russian tennis, Mirra Andreeva, does not often appear at tournaments, since there are age restrictions. According to the rules of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), up to the age of 18, a girl can play a maximum of 16 professional tournaments in one season. Now Mirra is only 16 years old, and therefore every appearance on the court is an event and a mini-celebration.

Andreeva herself tries to get the most out of her game. But at the Masters in Indian Wells, the Russian woman and her fans were in for a severe disappointment.

The girl tried her best to hide her emotions.

There was a chance to repeat the success

Mirra was automatically selected for the thousandth race in Indian Wells, but without a seeding number. Her opponent in the first round was Katie Volynets, an American with Slavic roots. The positions of the tennis players were radically different: in the WTA rankings, Andreeva is in 38th place, and Volynets is in 131st. Mirra and Katie had never met before at professional tournaments.

The winner of the match went to Ons Jabeur, the sixth racket in the world. Fragments of the defeat that Andreeva inflicted on Tunisia at the Australian Open are still fresh in my memory. The hope of repeating success warmed my soul.

Mirra Andreeva / Photo: © Robert Prange / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

However, Volynets also wanted to play with Jaber. And she clearly didn’t want to lose in front of the American public.

Mirra gave the match herself

The match was remembered for very long rallies. Tennis players could hit 20-30 times before earning points. Even in the first set, it became clear that the game would drag on for a long time.

No one was able to achieve a tangible advantage. In the first set, Mirra and Katie traded breaks twice. Andreeva was a little closer to victory, but did not convert her serve when the score was 5:4. This moment became a turning point for the Russian, who gave up three games in a row and lost 5:7.

The second set was more dramatic. Mirra saw it off more confidently, more quickly, and reached a triple set point with the score 5:3. But mistakes in attack neutralized the advantage, and the American managed to pull out a seemingly dead game. This finally broke Andreeva, who openly became unstuck and swam. Comfortable 5:3 turned into fatal 5:7.

Of course, it is worth noting the character of Volynets, who did not give up in a difficult situation. But still, Mirra, alas, gave away this match herself. After 2 hours and 7 minutes, she was forced to admit defeat.

The Russian woman took the loss very hard

Andreeva’s reaction to the final result is indicative. Even on the court, her frustration was visible. Mirra barely restrained herself from crying.

Mirra Andreeva / Photo: © Michael Owens / Freelancer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

After shaking hands with her opponent and the judge, the Russian woman sat on the bench and covered her face with her hands. The girl took this loss very hard and, it seems, even shed a few tears. One can understand her: there were only a few steps left to victory in both sets. They were not enough for overall success.

Mirra has two weeks to analyze the lesion and draw conclusions. Already on March 19, the “thousander” starts in Miami. In the meantime, Mirra can support her older sister Erica, who has not yet completed her tournament match in Indian Wells. The eldest of the Andreevs is losing to the American Danielle Collins with a score of 6:7, 5:6, and is now waiting for the resumption of the game, which was interrupted due to rain.