Mirra Andreeva: Russian tennis prodigy, 16, continues march on Wimbledon debut
Teenage tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva has continued to wow Wimbledon on her debut by reaching the third round of the Grand Slam tournament.
The Russian 16-year-old – the youngest player in the men’s or women’s draws in SW19 this year – was leading 6-1, 4-0 against 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova when her Czech opponent retired injured from the second-round match this afternoon.
It was Andreeva’s fifth win at Wimbledon this year, having had to come through three qualifying rounds in order to reach the main draw.
She could face compatriot Anastasia Potapova in the third round if the 22nd seed overcomes Slovenian qualifier Kaja Juvan later today at the All England Club.
Andreeva started the year playing junior Grand Slams, reaching the final of the Australian Open in January, but has quickly progressed to taking big notable scalps.
She earned a reputation as a giant-killer by beating former US Open finalists Leylah Fernandez and top-20 players Beatriz Haddad Maia and Magda Linette at the Madrid Open, her first WTA 1000-level tournament.
Andreeva then rose to greater prominence with a run to the third round of the French Open, where she lost to American Coco Gauff, a former prodigy herself.
Gauff became the darling of Wimbledon on her debut in 2019, beating her idol Venus Williams on her way to reaching the fourth round, aged just 15 years and three months.
Should Andreeva’s winning run continue, she could face 25th seed Madison Keys or Paula Badosa in the fourth round, with Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka a possible quarter-final opponent.
Wimbledon lifted its ban on Russian and Belarusian players for this year’s championships, having prevented them from entering in 2022 because of the invasion of Ukraine.