At the moment, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina occupy the top 4 places respectively in the WTA rankings. However, Russia’s Mirra Andreeva is threatening to break into the top 4 and perhaps displace Rybakina by the end of 2024, according to Serena Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci.
Rick Macci has been closely following the French Open 2024 and is mighty impressed by Mirra Andreeva. Andreeva is merely 17 years old and is showing signs of being more than a tennis prodigy. So much so that Macci also believes she will be become the World’s No.1 women’s tennis player in the near future.
Macci wrote on X, “Andreeva will be top 4 by the end of the year if not sooner and right there with Iga Sabalenka and Coco. Number One 100% in the future and future is sooner than later. She is wired for greatness and mentally a cut above.”
Andreeva reached the semifinals of the French Open 2024. It was the first Grand Slam semi-final of her career. Although she started her professional journey only 2 years ago, Andreeva has quickly broken into the top 50 WTA rankings in a year or so.
Her first signs of greatness this year was at the Australian Open, where she defeated sixth-seeded Ons Jabeur 6-0, 6-2 in the second round. It was the first time a 16-year-old inflicted a bagel in the first set to a top-10 seed in a Grand Slam on the WTA Tour.
Fast forward to the French Open and Mirra Andreeva beat the likes of Peyton Stearns, Varvara Gracheva, and the biggest of them all, Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. Andreeva beat the reigning Australian Open champion and World No.2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4, and caused another upset for the ages.
As per May 27, Mirra Andreeva was ranked No.38 in the world. However, she is expected to jump up many places in the next WTA rankings update.
If Andreeva performs well in the upcoming grass court season and then extends her good run into hard courts again, Macci’s prediction of the Russian making into the top 4 could become a reality. However, given that Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have done well to hold on to their rankings at the very top, they are unlikely to falter.
So Mirra Andreeva would have to work harder to atleast go past Elena Rybakina or Coco Gauff, before she could even believe that she will become the World No.1 before turning 20. Her straightforward attitude and clarity of thought could make her stand out from the rest.
Mirra Andreeva Promises to Bounce Back After French Open 2024
Mirra Andreeva’s dream run at the French Open was over in the semi-finals. After Italian star Jasmine Paolini defeated her 6-3, 6-1, Andreeva felt humbled and disappointed. Her sadness was palpable throughout her post-match press conference. However, she is confident of bouncing back very soon.
After a journalist asked her to summarize her performance at the French Open, she had a good response –
“It’s a good result despite the loss. I can take a lot of positive in this tournament and of course, I am a bit disappointed from today’s match outcome. But it is what it is. So, you have to move on,” Andreeva was quoted as saying in the interaction.
The World No.38 also spoke about countering negative thoughts and her satisfaction level upon reaching the semis.
“After the losses its always tough to start thinking positive again. Maybe not for everyone, but for me I only have negative thoughts coming first.
“I think for now we’ll need just a couple of days to just wait until the negative thoughts will go away and I can clearly see the situation and make some conclusions out of this trip,” Andreeva added.
Overall though, Mirra Andreeva was very happy with her performance in finishing as a semi-finalist. Andreeva could be one of the breakout stars of the 2024 season if she is able to overcome sterner challenges that await her.
