Mirra Andreeva approached the Australian Open in excellent shape and in a positive mood. A few days before the start of the tournament, the 18-year-old Russian woman won the WTA 500 competition in Adelaide, and already in Melbourne she began her journey with a strong-willed victory.

The first match of the tournament turned out to be difficult for Andreeva, but perhaps that’s even good. The main thing is that the best tennis player in Russia continues to fight for the title.

A confident start to the year and a quick start to getting into shape

The beginning of 2026 is shaping up to be the most productive for Mirra Andreeva. In Adelaide, she won the fourth title in her career, confidently defeating Victoria Mboko in the final – 6:3, 6:1. This success was the Russian’s first of the season and immediately set the tone for her performances.

The trophy at the WTA 500 tournament confirmed Andreeva’s status as one of the most consistent tennis players on the tour right now. The seventh racket in the world feels confident on hard court, builds plays competently and reads her opponents well. It is important that Mirra won all her matches confidently, without spending much effort.

Mirra Andreeva / Photo: © Mark Brake / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

How the match with Donna Vekic turned out

In the first round of the Australian Open, Andreeva faced the experienced Croatian Donna Vekic, ranked 72nd in the rankings. The first set was left to the Croatian. Andreeva led early with a break – 3:1, but was unable to develop her advantage. Vekic quickly equalized the score, and then in the end made the decisive break and took the game in 53 minutes – 6:4. The game went smoothly, with long games and frequent “straight” plays, but the key plays worked out better for the opponent.

In the second set the situation changed. In the sixth game, Andreeva finally caught Vekic making mistakes, converted a break point and led 4:2. This advantage was enough: the Russian confidently served for the set and closed the game – 6:3 in just 32 minutes.

Mirra Andreeva / Photo: © Cameron Spencer / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Before the decisive set there was a short pause, which Andreeva used as efficiently as possible. After a short conversation with the coaching staff, she came out onto the court collected and aggressive. In the third game, the Russian made three breaks in a row, completely controlled the rallies and did not give up a single game to her opponent – 6:0.

“I think today I would like to thank myself again for everything.” I did absolutely everything myself. I don’t know what my team was doing, sitting in the corner and doing nothing. To be honest, I’m very pleased with how I was able to come back into this match, how I didn’t lose my concentration and continued to take shots. Okay, maybe Conchita gave me advice a couple of times here and there… But in general, again I did everything myself,” Andreeva said in an interview on the court after the match.

This manner of interviewing on the court is already becoming Mirra’s trademark. After winning the title in Adelaide, she also took full credit for herself, making fun of Conchita Martinez and other members of the team. It turns out that after victories, one of the best tennis players on the planet publicly mocks the team that helps her achieve success. Perhaps this has never happened before in world tennis.

In the second round, Mirra Andreeva will meet with the 53rd racket of the world, Maria Sakkari from Greece. And this is the case when the position in the ranking should not be misleading. Several years ago, Sakkari reached third place in the rankings, played twice in the semi-finals of Grand Slam tournaments, and won two titles. Any relaxation and even a short decline can knock Andreeva out of the tournament, so the Russian woman must be as collected as possible.