Twelve months ago, 15-year-old Mirra Andreeva was in tears after losing the Australian Open girls final at Rod Laver Arena.
Fast forward a year later and the Russian teenager annihilated a three-time Grand Slam finalist in the second round on the same court.
Wimbledon (2022,2023) and US Open (2022) finalist Ons Jabeur had no answers as she was demolished 6-0 6-2 by Andreeva in 54 minutes.
It was the arrival of a future tennis superstar, but Andreeva’s Australian Open 2024 is far from over.
MORE: Australian Open: Scores, results, schedule
Who is Mirra Andreeva?
Andreeva is a 16-year-old tennis player from Russia.
She made herself known in tennis circles at the Australian Open 2023 girls final, losing in a three-set thriller to fellow Russian teenager Alina Korneeva 6-7(2) 6-4 7-5.
Andreeva was inconsolable after the match, with her friend Korneeva comforting her.
“A picture of agony and ecstasy.” 🫂#AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/RFUQpgGIhV
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2023
After her breakout win against Jabeur, Andreeva relived the losing final in her post-match press conference.
“Honestly, after I lost the final, I was just super upset. I didn’t think about anything else,” Andreeva said.
“For maybe a week I was just replaying the match in my head, and I was thinking I should have changed this, should have changed that.”
After the Australian Open heartbreak, Andreeva graduated to the senior grand slam tournaments, competing at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open during 2023.
Andreeva won two matches at the French Open – her first major – before losing to Coco Gauff in the third round after winning the first set.
The Russian then reached the fourth round of Wimbledon, recording a win against 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova before narrowly losing to Madison Keys.
At the US Open, Andreeva got through her first-round match before she was bundled out in straight sets by Gauff again in the second round.
Throughout 2023, Andreeva also reached the fourth round of the Madrid Open and China Open, where she took a set off world No .2 Elena Rybakina before defeat.
Ranked 47 in the world before Australian Open 2024, Andreeva comfortably dismissed Bernarda Pera 7-5 6-2 in the first round before her stunning win against Jabeur.
Andreeva revealed it was the best performance of her career to date, even surprising herself with her level of tennis.
“Probably it was the best match [I’ve ever played],” Andreeva said post-match.
“The first set, as I said, I didn’t expect that I would play this good.
“Second set was also not bad. So, yes, for me it was an amazing match.
“I’m super happy with the level that I showed today on the court.”
She then defeated Frenchwoman Diane Parry in a stunning third round comeback, down 5-1 in the last set before powering to a victory in a tiebreak.
Mirra Andreeva WTA ranking
Andreeva is currently ranked 47 in the world as of the start of Australian Open 2024.
Her career high ranking of 46 was achieved in November 2023.
The teenager can be expected to jump into the top 30 after her Australian Open 2024 performances.