It seems that every several years or so, there is a prodigy waiting to make an impact on the sport of tennis. Coco Gauff comes to mind but the list goes on and on with legends such as Tracy Austin and Martina Hingis who burst onto the scene at a very young age and found success. Who might be the next on that list of players? I give you Mirra Andreeva.

The 16-year-old from Russia not only upset her idol in veteran Ons Jabeur, she dismantled her 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the third round of the Australian Open. 

“I was really nervous before the match, I’m really inspired by Ons, by the way she plays. Before I started to play on the WTA tour, I always watched her matches, and now I had a chance to play against her,” said Andreeva. She appeared anything but nervous against the 6-seed.

Some may remember the Russian just one year ago in the Australian Open girl's draw, where she reached the finals falling short to Alina Korneeva in three sets. Others might remember her grand slam main-draw debut at the 2023 French Open where she advanced to the third round. She would go on to one-up that in Wimbledon where she would reach the 4th round.

All signs were pointing to success at the beginning of 2024 when Andreeva reached the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International, but she appeared to surprise herself against Jabeur. “In the first set, I showed amazing tennis,” she said. “I honestly didn’t expect that from myself.”

Andreeva will look to equal her best grand slam result when she takes on Diane Parry of France next.