Mirra Andreeva, the 16-year-old Russian, made massive waves at the Australian Open this year! Despite crashing out earlier today, she’s now the fourth player in the last 30 years to reach the fourth round at the AO and Wimbledon before turning 17. Impressive, right? But this isn’t her first time in the spotlight. In the previous year, Mirra garnered considerable attention at the Wuhan Open when she contested against her elder sister, Erika Andreeva, in a historic encounter. That day made for the inaugural WTA main draw match between siblings since the Williams sisters in Kentucky in 2020. But who between the two started their tennis career first? And does Erika play full-time? Let’s uncover the story of the older sister!

Unlike Mirra, whose WTA tour debut happened in 2022 at the Jasmin Open, Erika’s senior career started earlier, when she won the ITF Circuit title in Bulgaria in November 2020 and made her way in the first WTA tour at the Ladies Open Lausanne. And what about her major? Well, Erika made her major debut at the 2022 US Open while winning three qualifying matches. 

However, she came into the spotlight in 2024, while entering into the top 100 by reaching the R2 in the Qatar Ladies Open as a qualifier. And despite losing the final round of qualifying, the Russian was given a place at Wimbledon 2024 as a ‘lucky loser’ and made her first Grand Slam victory by beating Yuan Yue in the first round. And what about the head-to-head results?

Well, the sisters mostly played practice matches before meeting at last year’s Wuhan Open. And as the older one won 6-3, 6-1 in the RO 16, Erika, who hasn’t got her taste of success, made her remarks after playing with her sister. “First experience, and both of us were happy it happened at a big tournament, but I’m not sure we enjoyed it. I know where she will most possibly go, and she as well. Sometimes during the rally I was like, ‘Normally I go there, but I know that she knows that I go there,’ and I changed my decision. I’m not sure that was the best choice sometimes,” Erika added after the match. 

Both Erika and Mirra have played at the AO this year. Unfortunately, Erika has already seen her way out in the second round, losing to Brazilian player, Beatriz Haddad Maia. The younger one has fared slightly better, having competed in the Round of 16, playing – and losing – against a familiar opponent.

Mirra Andreeva vs Aryna Sabalenka : Match Review

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Mirra, the current world No. 15 started her 2025 in a commanding fashion, winning her first three matches in the current Australian Open with grit. Despite her straight-set win in the first match, the Russian came up from behind against both her matches with Moyuka Uchijima and Magdalena Frech. However, as she fixed a RO 16 match, her opponent was a familiar face, Aryna Sabalenka, whom she has met four times, on previous occasions – much to her peril.

Unfortunately for the teenager, her H2H record against the more experienced Belarusian has been a tale of woe. In their four meetings, Sabalenka held the record 3-1, her latest victory being a 6-3, 6-2 rundown of Andreeva in Brisbane, just two weeks ago. Now, their fifth clash in R4 of AO went much the same way. A 6-1, 6-2 score line showed Andreeva out of the Happy Slam. And Andreeva, it turns out, might just have been exasperated at the circumstances.

Before they both locked head-to-head again, the 17-year-old Russian jokingly made her remarks about facing Aryna at her post-match press conference after  defeating Polish player, Magdalena Frech. “Honestly I’m so tired to play against her. It’s I don’t know, I think she is the one player that I don’t know played her four or five times already. So it’s like, its a lot, so what can I say, here we are again. I know that probably it’s gonna be an entertaining match and of course I’m gonna do everything possible and I’m gonna give my best. So I think it’s going to be interesting to watch so we will see what’s gonna happen tomorrow,” Mirra added.

Well, the match was certainly one-sided, as fans witnessed a nervous Andreeva’s form crumble from the get go. In 62 mins, Sabalenka ensured that her race to a unprecedented 3-year-title run at Melbourne would continue. But she was all praise for her younger counterpart, highlighting how despite being young, she game was masterful and that their clashes were often difficult ones. If not her sportsmanship, the comments foreground Andreeva’s potential as a disruptive threat on the WTA circuit.