Mirra Andreeva through to final round of Wimbledon qualifying after early struggles on grass

The teenage Russian seems to have found her feet on grass, having struggled in her first every grass-court match in the previous round

Russia’s Mirra Andreeva during her second round match at the 2023 French Open Image Credit: AI/Reuters/Panoramic

Jamie Malachy

June 28, 2023

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva backed up her first ever win on grass by cruising past French player Chloe Paquet in Wimbledon qualifying to make it two wins from two grass-court matches.

During her first round qualifying match, Andreeva displayed the type of impressive shot-making we have become accustomed to watching from her as she beat Spain’s Rosa Vicens Mas 6-3 6-1.

However, throughout that match it was evident that the young Russian was struggling with her footwork and timing at times, despite closing out a comfortable win.

Andreeva had never played a professional grass-court match before these two qualifying matches, and following her first round win, the precocious teenager admitted that she had struggled to adapt to such a unique surface.

“On the first practice I fell three times,” Andreeva told the WTA website after her win.

Andreeva looking to replicate clay-court showing

The 16-year-old is hoping to re-create the brilliant clay-court form she showed this season, in what was a breakthrough period for her.

Andreeva came through three tough matches to reach the last 16 of the Madrid Open, before qualifying for Roland-Garros, capturing the attention of the tennis world with assured performances en route to a very impressive third round debut finish.

Having not been awarded a wildcard for Wimbledon this year, Andreeva again has to go through the rigours of qualifying in order to reach the main draw, something which – at her age and experience – is no bad thing, especially as she has talked openly about getting to grips with the grass.

“It’s pretty tough for me to get used to the grass – the moving is different, the ball bounces differently, the grass is slippery,” Andreeva said.

“I try to do small steps and I still feel dangerous on court. I feel a bit slow, but I think it’s OK.

“As we can see, it’s going pretty well for now.”

Next up for the effervescent young Andreeva is Tamara Korpatsch. The German will pose a significantly more challenging prospect for Andreeva, one that she will need to overcome if she is to guarantee playing at Wimbledon this year.

Should she come through that encounter, it will be another debut Grand Slam main draw for the rapidly-rising Mirra Andreeva, hot on the heels of her first taste of Roland-Garros.

By the evidence on show so far, these experiences will be the first of many to come.