Mirra Andreeva has confirmed her status as the sport’s newest superstar, cracking the top 10 with her victory in Dubai at the weekend.
The WTA 1000 tournament victory is the biggest title of her burgeoning career and, being just 17 years of age, she notched several age-related milestones in the process.
Making it more impressive was the succession of quality opponents she slayed to end the week as champion.
Everybody knew they were watching a special talent compete whenever Andreeva – an Australian Open 2023 junior finalist – walked onto court and executed her polished game.
Former Aussie pro Nicole Pratt was watching Andreeva at Roland Garros in 2023 and told ausopen.com it was “crazy” how good she was: “She's a baby. [Yet] her tennis IQ is very, very, very good,” Pratt observed.
Former world No.1 Martina Hingis, a player to whom Andreeva is often compared, told The Sit-Down podcast how she admired Andreeva’s style and attitude.
"The thing is that even Mirra says about herself, she's not as maybe aggressive, which I would like to see her do a little bit more, coming in and taking the ball on the rise, and step in and move forward,” Hingis said.
“I think in my [view], if she can make that extra step, that will make her a top-10 player, definitely.”
Hingis was right.
Andreeva played aggressively, but with control, all week in Dubai, dropping just one set in six matches and overcoming three Grand Slam champions – Marketa Vondrousova, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina – before beating Clara Tauson in the final.
It marked the first time Swiatek and Rybakina had ever lost a tour-level match to a player under the age of 18.
Andreeva described her 6-3 6-3 upset win over world No.2 Swiatek as one of most impressive performances, and it propelled her into the semifinals, making her the youngest semifinalist in the 24-year history of the Dubai tournament.
Interestingly, Hingis won the inaugural edition of the event in 2001.
Andreeva backed up the Swiatek win with a three-set triumph over Rybakina, making her the youngest finalist at a WTA 1000 event since that tournament category was introduced in 2009.
Her 7-6(1) 6-1 victory over Tauson vaults her to a career-high ranking of world No.9, ensuring she achieved her 2025 goal of a top-10 debut just two months into the season.
“I've been dreaming of having a press conference with a trophy by my side, so finally it happened,” smiled Andreeva, the youngest player inside the WTA top 10 since Nicole Vaidisova almost 20 years ago.
“But I saw winners drinking a glass of champagne. It's a pity that I'm still 17. Soon I'm going to be turning 18, in the end of April. I hope that I will manage to win another tournament, and there I'm going to have my first glass of champagne in the press conference.
“This is the exact goal that I'm [now] going to set for myself, to be top five by the end of the year. I'm very curious if I will be able to achieve it.”
Andreeva possesses a striking maturity for a player so young.
She’s a precocious teen phenom but not a cocky one; she’s instead incredibly coachable, turning to 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez to guide her.
Before her Dubai matches she watched highlights of Roger Federer’s Australian Open 2017 final triumph over Rafael Nadal, and revealed she watches lots of these “idols” – also Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – to motivate and inspire her.
She found further inspiration in the words of basketball legends LeBron James.
“What he said is it's easy to be confident and to play good when everything goes your way. What makes you a champion is when you're giving your best when you don't feel great,” Andreeva said.
“I chose to be 100 per cent mentally today [in the final]. I didn't feel great tennis-wise on the court.”
Andreeva might now be targeting the top five, but in another example of her mature perspective, she also recognises she should celebrate her journey to this point.
“Honestly, I don't even know what I want,” she answered when asked what she planned to do with her winner’s prize of almost US$600,000.
“Now I think about it and I feel like I have everything I ever wanted. I won the tournament. I won it. I've already reached my goal that I've set for myself by the end of the year. My family is traveling with me. I have a great team. I don't know what else I need.
“I feel happy and I feel this is all I need.”