Teenager Mirra Andreeva, who won the 2023 WTA Newcomer of the Year Award, lost the final of an exhibition event in a rare Battle of the Sexes match. After her scheduled opponent Marta Kostyuk withdrew citing political reasons, organisers scrambled to find a makeshift opponent. Local player Yanis Ghazouani Durand, World No. 1145, was drawn in, only to end up winning.
Andreeva won the Newcomer of the Year award, leaping from World No. 293 at the end of 2022 to a career-high of No.46 in 2023. She ended the season at No.57. She reached the final at the 2023 Negometal Open de Bourg-de-Peage, an off-season tournament in France. Donna Vekic was the other finalist, but the Croat pulled out because of an injury. Kostyuk stepped in as a replacement before the result of Andreeva’s semi-final was known.
However, after Andreeva won and advanced to the summit clash, Kostyuk announced her withdrawal. The Ukrainian refused to play against the Russian, given the ongoing war between the two nations. With all tickets sold out and fans expecting to see a final match, the tournament organisers pulled all strings to find yet another replacement. However, with no WTA player immediately available, they approached Durand.
The ATP World No.1145 trains at the club that hosts the Negometal Open de Bourg-de-Peage. Durand, No. 74 in the ITF Rankings, agreed to participate and the match went ahead.
Despite the mismatch, Andreeva gave a good account of herself in the impromptu Battle of the Sexes. She immediately broke Durand and took a lead but the 23-year-old Frenchman returned the favour with a break of his own. They went neck-and-neck as the first set stood level at 5-5 and a tiebreak loomed. However, Durand displayed powerful hitting to bag the opener 7-5. Including that, he won five games on the trot to go 3-0 up in the second set.
Andreeva had no answers as Durand raced ahead 5-2. She saved a match point, but the ATP player eventually won 7-5, 6-2. Regardless of her loss, Andreeva was handed the 2023 Negometal Open de Bourg-de-Peage trophy.
Mirra Andreeva made big strides in 2023 to bag the WTA Award
Mirra Andreeva turned pro only in 2022 and scaled new heights in 2023. She played in the girls’ singles category at the 2023 Australian Open, reaching the final, but started featuring in the women’s singles after that. The teenager made her WTA 1000 debut at the Madrid Open on a wildcard and scored a couple of big wins. She defeated Leylah Fernandez and two seeded players, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Magda Linette, to reach the fourth round. She lost to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka but broke into the top 150 with her run.
Andreeva reached the third round of the French Open and fourth in the Wimbledon. She earned the biggest win of her career during the latter campaign, defeating former World No.2 and 10th seed, Barbora Krejcikova. By the time the US Open rolled around, she was in the top 70 in the WTA rankings. After an early exit in New York, she came through the qualifiers at the China Open to reach the third round. Her continued improved performances saw her peak at World No.46 in the rankings. This marked a jump of 247 places from the Russian’s 2022 Year-End rank of No. 293.
For her immense growth, Andreeva won the WTA Newcomer of the Year award for 2023. With just about a year of pro experience, she gave an ATP player seven years her senior a run for his money even in an unplanned match. Her undeniable talent makes her one to watch out for in the coming years.
