Chris Evert Takes Pride in Her ‘Superstar’ Prediction for Mirra Andreeva After She Scripts Teenage French Open History

Mirra Andreeva turned the tables with one of the biggest upsets of the French Open! Everyone was impressed by the 17-year-old’s victory over Aryna Sabalenka. In addition to thrilling tennis fans, her victory over the Australian Open champion left a lasting impression on tennis greats like Chris Evert. Recently, the 18th-time Grand Slam champion talked about how she had faith in her progress, after seeing her last year.

In a conversation with Eurosport, the former world number one opened up about how the Russian has come a long way since last year. Evert stated, “I always thought she was going to be a superstar when I saw her last year at the French Open winning a set from Coco [Gauff] and she showed us why she is so good at 17.”

In a match between up-and-coming players, the 20-year-old defeated Andreeva in straight sets, earning a decisive victory that advanced her to the US Open third round. In the first match of the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium, sixteen-year-old Andreeva—who has been the season’s revelation thanks to her amazing performances in the third and fourth rounds in Paris and Wimbledon—was outplayed by the American.

Evert added, “Whenever she had a chance or an opening and Aryna would come and hit these bombs and hit so many great winners, you would think she would get a little frustrated and down on herself, but she didn’t, she just reset, bounced straight back and believed in herself, and in that third set she won it, Aryna didn’t give it to her. She won the important points finally.”

In addition, the Swiss former tennis player acknowledged the 17-year-old following her as the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist in 27 years at the French Open, as she became the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist since Martina Hingis, who reached the milestone at age 16 in 1997.

Mirra Andreeva opens up about her victory against Aryna Sabalenka 

Andreeva has the stunning ability to play a variety of positions on the court, including drop shots, cutting angles, and net play. Not only that, but the young Russian also deflects and absorbs the pace of her opponent. Often, she relies on pure instinct rather than a structured plan.

She said, “Honestly, I kind of see the game. I just play ­wherever I want. I don’t even really have a plan. When I feel like there’s space on the court, I try to play there. Or if I think that maybe she will run there, I try to play behind here. Me and my coach, we had a plan today, but again, I didn’t remember anything.”

This is the Russian player’s sixth big competition. The 28-year-old Italian Jasmine Paolini, who has also advanced to her maiden major semifinal, will be her next opponent today.