In order to get closer to the Mirra Andrejewa phenomenon, an excursion into the flora and fauna of Australia is necessary: to the reptiles, genus Black-headed Python. This ground-dwelling giant bat (Aspidites melanocephalus) is not poisonous, but its muscular body reaches a threatening length of up to three meters. When the opportunity arose, Andreeva, herself a slim girl of 16, had nothing more urgent to do than to pick up such a python. She forced her fearful manager to touch the snakeskin too.
What is a tennis match against a world-class player like Ons Jabeur?
Andreyeva recounted the Python episode to the delight of the audience at the microphone in Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, the largest tennis arena on the continent, which apparently did not scare her either. She had previously beaten the three-time Grand Slam finalist from Tunisia, 6-0, 6-2, in less than an hour.
The encounter with Australia’s wild animals from the Melbourne Zoo, including the black-headed python, is part of the supporting program for the professionals from all over the world at the Australia Open. Andreeva had noted this date long in advance. On the other hand, the match against Jabeur could not be planned in advance: She had earned the chance herself with a first-round win on Monday against the American Bernarda Pera, who was 13 years older than her.
In the world rankings, Andrejeva is now ranked 47th, just behind the currently best German professional player Tatjana Maria (number 42), although she is only allowed to play a few professional tournaments due to the age restrictions of the women’s tour organization WTA. More than twelve competitions per season are not permitted for reasons of youth protection.
It is no longer a secret that Andrejewa is one of the greatest talents in tennis
Nevertheless, the young Russian, born in Krasnoyarsk, has played herself into the public eye within just under a year: at the French Open in Paris 2023, her premiere on the big tennis stage, she amazed the experts with her extraordinarily effective baseline game on red clay, which carried her through to the third round. Afterwards, with youthful exuberance, she announced that she wanted to win 25 Grand Slam trophies. A little later she reached the round of 16 as a debutant at Wimbledon. She also cleared the first hurdle at the US Open in New York. And in Melbourne, at her fourth Grand Slam tournament, she is now back in round three and has defeated a rival from the top ten in tennis for the first time.
“I think that was the best match I’ve ever played,” said Andrejeva on the court afterwards in almost perfect English: “I never thought I could play that well, at least in the first set.”
The ball magician Ons Jabeur, who had reached the Wimbledon final twice in a row, did not seem at the top of her abilities that day; the serve rate was abysmal and she did not comment publicly on Wednesday about the circumstances that could have explained the defeat. What was striking was that Andrejewa, who sees the Tunisian as a role model, decided in the middle of the match to beat the idol at her own game, because she cheerfully sprinkled stop balls – otherwise a Jabeur specialty – into the game. “I can do it quite well,” she explained mischievously.
Didn’t work at the top of her abilities against Andrejewa: Ons Jabeur.
(Photo: Lukas Coch/dpa)
It is no longer a secret that the girl from Siberia, who now lives in Cannes and trains with Frenchman Jean-René Lisnard, is one of the greatest talents in tennis. The Danish Caroline Wozniacki, 33, described her as “extremely accomplished and fearless” – who in turn lost in three sets to a young Russian, 20-year-old Maria Timofejewa, on Wednesday. “I think that’s the way things go,” said Wozniacki, who also made her debut on the WTA tour at the age of 15: “There’s always a younger generation coming along.”
In Melbourne there were even three 16-year-olds who pushed into the establishment with force and momentum and got the older ones going. Alina Korneyeva from Moscow also reached the second round. Korneyeva was even more successful as a junior than Mirra Andreeva: a year ago she beat her Russian rival in the final of the Australian Open junior tournament, also in the Rod Laver Arena. On Wednesday, however, she faced the experienced Brazilian Beatriz Haddad-Maia, number ten in the world, and lost 1:6, 2:6. The third of the trio of talents, Brenda Fruhvirtova from Prague, already number 107 in the world, had an even more unfortunate fate: she hardly had a chance against defending champion Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus in the 3:6, 2:6 defeat.
For Mirra Andrejewa, however, the wonderful journey continues. Waiting in the next round is the Frenchwoman Diane Parry, who at 21 is also one of the future of tennis. “I’m only 16, I don’t necessarily have to think about my ranking yet,” Mirra Andrejeva said on Wednesday after her coup against Jabeur. But don’t be mistaken about this girl who isn’t even afraid of pythons. When she lost at Wimbledon, she broke a racket in anger.