After days of extreme tension, Mirra Andreyeva was able to move a little more relaxed about the tennis court in Wimbledon. Because: Andy Murray was no longer there, he was eliminated in the second round. The risk that the 16-year-old would unexpectedly meet her crush somewhere was averted. “I don’t dare talk to him. I’m way too shy,” she said last week – and that she had fled the building when she spotted Murray in the stairwell.
The story of the Russian tennis teenager and the British tennis idol goes back to a TV interview about three months ago. At the time, Andreyeva said how exciting it was for her to suddenly see stars like Murray up close. Then she whispered: “His face… He’s so beautiful in real life.” Murray later countered humorously and gallantly: “Imagine how good she gets when she gets her eyes done.”
For about two weeks, viewers in south London were able to see for themselves how good Andreyeva is without eye surgery. First she started qualifying in Roehampton, won three matches there, then three more in the first week of the Wimbledon tournament. And although she lost 6: 3, 6: 7, 2: 6 to the American Madison Keys in the round of 16 on Monday, the youngest participant in the 136th edition of the oldest tennis tournament in the world wrote one of those stories that are most popular in memories will remain. It’s one of those stories about child prodigies that you probably love to hear and tell because it gives you the feeling that it’s a glimpse into the future.
Thomas Klemm, Paris Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 1 A comment by Pirmin Clossé, London Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 21 A comment by Thomas Klemm Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 2 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 41
Now there have already been too many of them, especially in women’s tennis, for Andreyeva’s to be told without pointing out that early fame is rarely without side effects. There were quite a few shooting stars that lit up brightly and quickly burned out. Two years ago, for example, the British Emma Raducanu, who won the US Open as a qualifier at the age of 18, but has hardly played a match on the professional tour since then. But anyone who saw Andreeva himself dashing light-footedly and carefree across the lawn in the defeat against the experienced Keys on Monday afternoon still finds it difficult not to rave about so much talent and youthful vigour. In any case, the streaming giant Netflix has long since identified Andreyeva as a coming star. Cameras followed her every step of the way at Wimbledon.
She was a perfectly normal teenager, Andreyeva now said, but then she said a lot of things that normal teenagers tend not to say. That she had a long soliloquy after the French Open, for example. To negotiate with herself how to play in the future, how to deal with defeat and what kind of person she wants to be. Then she made some fundamental decisions. “Apparently I did a pretty good job with that,” she said now. “So far it’s working anyway.”
Of course there are also things with Andreyeva that come across as quite teeny. “I’ll be honest, when I have free time, I mainly watch Netflix.” The fact that she will soon see her own story from Wimbledon is a pretty extraordinary experience. Mirra Andreeva’s teenage life is not quite as normal as she claims.