That’s what Mira Andreva was Tears approached after she advanced to her first major semi-finals. She just defeated Alina Sabalenka in the biggest victory of her young career, and made another monumental leap with a quick rise to the pinnacle of the tennis world. It was a dream that would come true right in front of the world.
But that was over 13 months ago.
And everything has changed for the 18-year-old ever since.
On Monday, No. 7 seed Andreva defeated No. 10 Emma Navarro to advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. She is currently one match away from reaching the second slam semi-final of her burgeoning career.
However, during this latest run, there were no tears or even signs of emotions. Having just finished high school studies, Andreva has the presence and mentality of a veteran veteran. And it seemed calmly collected during the astounding 6-2, 6-3 victory over Navarro. When she first appeared on Centre Court and noticed Roger Federer sitting in the Royal Box, she later said she was “really nervous,” but she didn’t show it.
In fact, the only mistake she made that day may have been after a match point where she didn’t realize the match was over.
“I kept telling myself I was facing a breakpoint, because otherwise I’d be triple nervous at matchpoint.”
Andreeva may be the youngest player in the WTA’s top 80, but after reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open last month and recreating the feat at Wimbledon, she has proven that she is no longer a phenomenal genius seeking greatness, and a star of moments that belongs deeply to Week 2.
Her season is extraordinary, and her achievements will induce hope even for the most accomplished of the game. Since reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open in January, Andreva became the youngest woman in history to win a 1,000-level title after securing the trophy in Dubai, and became the youngest woman in history when she again won the Indian Wells just a few weeks later. The Russian reached the No. 6 career-high ranking last month, and emerged as a favorite to win at the All-England club. The only teenager to arrive in the second week, Andreva became the youngest woman to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007, and in 2004 she became the youngest woman without dropping her final champion, Maria Sharapova.
There have been high expectations since Andreeva entered the scene two years ago, but even the closest to her are surprised at how fast her rise has become.
“Everyone saw (a) that Mira was already very good a few years ago,” said Dahlia Casatokina, a frequent practice partner and Andreva’s mentor, after losing to her at the French Open. “I mean, the possibilities were always there, so (it was only a matter of time) before she sped up. It was pretty fast.”
Anyway, it’s clear to her peers that the future is now.
“I don’t think she’s a ‘promise’ anymore,” said Clara Towson, who was defeated by Andreva in the Dubai final. “I think she’s (already) at the top of our game.”
In the semi-finals At Wimbledon, like in the main finals, Andreva has become accustomed to the huge stage and the intense glare of the spotlight.
Just a few months after losing in the Australian Open Junior Final, Andreva, the 15-year-old, officially introduced to the tennis world with a surprise run in the fourth round as a wild card at the 2023 Madrid Open, a 1000-level event. By the end of the season, she had the main attraction in all the remaining majors, winning matches at least in each, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon. Andreeva’s fearless play, impressive self-confidence and engaging postmatch interviews quickly compared to players such as Coco Gauff, now a 21-year-old and two-time major champion.
Behind the scenes, Andreva continued to work on the game and made improvements. Last April, she began working with 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez. It began as a trial, but soon became official. The 2024 French Open was their fourth tournament together, but the two became known for their easy relationships and constant banter with each other. Andreeva lovingly teases Martinez in interviews, including on-court interviews on Monday. Martinez was able to see laughing during the entire exchange and Andreva’s gaffe at the end of the match. The dynamics work and seem to work well.
“I’m very impressed with her level of maturity. She’s only 17 so she still has a childlike moment,” Martinez told the French Open website last year. “She can play the game, have a joke, and at the moment she needs to get serious, she can switch to it. It’s very important. It feels like she respects me and my work.”
After her fourth victory, Andreva said she was “very grateful” that fate united her and Martinez.
“It feels like she’s in my box, especially during this tournament, but she’s very special because she gives me and shares so many experiences,” Andreva said. “She’s a great supporter.”
Just a few months after they joined forces, Andreva won the first WTA title of her career at the Isai Open in July. A few weeks later, she frequently won Olympic Silver along with her doubles partner Diana Shnaider. By the end of 2024, she was ranked 16th with the goal of falling below the top 10. She achieved that by February.
“After doing it once, everyone started asking me, ‘What’s your next goal?’,” Andreva told ESPN in March. “And I didn’t know. The only thing I had to say to try and answer the question was in the top five. So that’s what I’m trying to do now.”
After Monday’s victory, she is expected to be fifth in next week’s rankings, with a chance to reach third place by the end of the tournament.
When Andreva, when he’s not seeded And he ranked 38th in the world and defeated Sabalenka in the 2024 French Open Quarter Finals, and many thought he was partly upset by the stomach bug that plagued Sabalenka for a few days and led to the match. She needed a doctor’s appointment during their clash and it appears she wasn’t in her best condition.
As a result, it was easy for some to downplay victory.
However, in the Indian Wells Finals in March, Andreva proved he could beat Sabalenka, who has been holding the world’s No. 1 ranking in all health conditions since October. Andreva defeated her in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory in the trophy. Sabalenka said she played poorly and cited it as a reason for the loss, but Andreeva’s talent and determination were fully on display in the comeback victory.
Win added her profile to draw attention to her childhood idol Sharapova and LeBron James, who said he helped her mentality after hearing the interview Andreva had done.
“I’m glad you helped, but honestly you did it!!” James commented on Instagram. “All your hard work, drive, dedication to your craft! Keep going!”
Sabalenka, now 27, quickly gave Andreva credit for the team around her, both in her post-concession speech and subsequent press conferences.
“She can see her family having her helping her, I’m sure and I have made a lot of decisions,” Sabalenka said. “She has a conchita.
The team currently includes a sports psychologist, who begins working together at the beginning of the season and regularly speaks on the phone.
The team can only do that much – after all, it’s the court player of the match – after all, Andreeva will listen to ESPN when there’s too much pressure, or if she does a bad practice, Martinez, and the rest of the team, listen to her concerns and tolerate them. “When it’s difficult, I just talk to the team and it becomes easy,” Andreva said.
She has spoken about her new positive attitude towards the court in recent months and her desire to “fight in every respect no matter what happens.” Andreeva believes that her mental improvement is just as important as her physical growth and progression. And, in addition to technical and tactical insights, Andreva said Martinez is always finding ways to motivate her.
“I think she knows what to tell me, how to calm me down, how to pump me out, so it depends on how I feel,” Andreva said during the opening in France. “I think she knows what to do to make me feel better.”
Andreeva frequently has her sister Erika, who is currently ranked 106th in the tournament. They frequently post together on social media. (Erica lost in the first round of qualifying at Wimbledon.)
On the WTA tour, which has achieved success for almost anything on the last decade, almost several young women have barely come out from the junior level. Emma Raducanu was 18 years old, who won the 2021 US Open Trophy as a qualifier. Unseeded Jelena Ostapenko became the 2017 French Open champion just days after turning 20. The list continues. However, consistency remains elusive for many.
Though it has improved dramatically in recent seasons, the struggle for younger players to replicate early results and stay on top was a well-documented challenge. However, few have been more consistent this season week than Andreeva, who told reporters he was trying to avoid thinking about all the top players who were eliminated early from the tournament this season.
“I didn’t know it was like a curse or something that could chase me,” she said Saturday. “So I was focusing on myself and focusing on what I had to do on the court, and that’s what I was trying to focus until the end of the tournament.
After Monday’s victory, no one has won a better match on this year’s tour, except Sabalenka.
Currently ranked 13th in doubles, she was roughly equally dominant alongside Shnaider. The two won two titles this year, including the 1000-level Miami Open, reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open and reaching the semi-finals at the French Open. The pair lost in 16 rounds at Wimbledon on Sunday.
“Meeting you in real life was one of my dreams.” 🫶
Mira Andreva continued to play nerves in the centre court in front of Roger Federer #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/b3m1fn83t0
– Wimbledon (@wimbledon) July 7, 2025
On the All England Club singles court, Andreva was almost perfect. In her first four games, she hasn’t dropped the set. The versatile American Haley Baptist retracted his 6-1, 6-3 victory in just 78 minutes, with Andreva stuck to his game plan and mixed aggression and patience. “I felt like I was playing great,” she said after the game.
Prior to Monday’s meeting, Navarro praised Andreva’s power and added that she “can be gross.” Her words could not have been more accurate. During the match, Andreeva took control from the start, taking almost everything right, using all his weapons, including the dominant first serve. Andreeva defeated Navarro in his third game, opening again in the fifth, earning the opening set, earning six of the seven breakpoints of the day.
“She’s a really tough player,” Navarro said after the game. “You know, she just has a real full game. I think she has power in the serve. She’s good from the ground from the baseline. She’s really tough when the points grow and things get ugly.
He marked Andreva’s 10th career victory over the top 10 players, becoming the youngest person to reach the mark since Sharapova in 2005.
Andreva is now in her third major quarter final and is the first at Wimbledon. And while she had a surprising loss to qualifier Royce Boisson in the French Open Quarter Final last month, showing rare signs of nerves, Andreva said she learned from the experience.
“You play tournaments every week. You can’t win every tournament,” Andreva said last week. “So you just need to learn how to deal with losses. Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it can be difficult. For example, it was very difficult to recover at the French Open.
However, doing what she couldn’t do in Paris is not easy for her resurrected Vensik. Bencic just returned from maternity leave at the end of 2024, so the two have never played before. However, Old World No. 4 and Olympic gold medalists have been star throughout the season, postponing a challenging foe for two weeks, including No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round. She is also about to reach the second major semi-final.
It will be an incredible opportunity for both players.
However, on Monday, not long after her victory, Andreva still seemed to have not been much focused on it. Instead, she looks like a typical teenager and is excited to discover that the celebrities she wanted to see in the next crowd, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Lily Collins, are currently at the top of the list, and that Wimbledon actually has the “last eight clubs” with lifelong merits.
And she was forced to share pride in her performance, both on Monday and throughout the tournament.
“Last year, I had a really hard time finding the right rhythm and finding the right tactics, how to play with grass, what to do,” Andreva said. “I am pleased to have found a rhythm this year, and I have come back and again have regained confidence by winning more and more games.
“I feel like I have a relationship with grass last year. I really didn’t miss that. This year, of course, I’ve returned to (a) a great relationship and a good vibe. I’m happy I was able to find the right way to play with grass.”