Erika Andreeva is set to play her second clash at the French Open but where else do we know her from? The Russian teenager is the elder sister of the 2023 breakout star, Mirra Andreeva. Born on 24 June 2004 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Erika Andreeva moved to Moscow with her younger sister, Mirra to receive further training. Now, the elder Andreeva will play the biggest match of her career yet!

She will face the Australian Open champion and finalist of the Madrid and Italian Open, Aryna Sabalenka. With her French Open match highly anticipated, tennis fans need a deeper dive into the life of the 19-year-old.

Erika Andreeva: Early Years

In her junior career, Andreeva was the runner-up of the 2021 French Open girl’s singles. The $15k event in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria, would be the first senior title for Andreeva, which was soon followed by two more ITF $15k titles. Her second major victory came in Cairo, Egypt, with the 2021 W15 Sharm El Sheikh as her third senior title.

Then came her first ITF Circuit final, the $100k+H La Bisbal d’Emporda in May 2022. Erika fought bravely but lost after winning the first set. Andreeva then made her WTA Tour debut at the Ladies Open Lausanne, eventually winning her maiden WTA Tour match against Anna Blinkova in the first round, dropping only three games. But bigger games were yet to come.

August brought the US Open, where Iga Swiatek was the ultimate winner. But Erika Andreeva debuted in the Grand Slam and won three qualifying matches, advancing to the main event. By February 2023, Andreeva managed to rank 135 and entered the ATX Open as the lucky loser.

The tournament would help her enter more main draws. In the ATX Open, she played two matches lasting over three hours and lost in the second match. She got a wildcard into the main draw of the 2023 Miami Open, where she defeated fellow wildcard Ashlyn Krueger in her opening match.

And one of her biggest accomplishments was perhaps toppling a top 20 player.

Growth into a player who frustrated Danielle Collins

In her main draw debut grand slam, she joined the 2023 French Open as a lucky loser due to the late withdrawal of another Russian, Anna Kalinskaya. She lost in her debut grand slam match, which was followed by appearances in WTA 125k events and attempts to qualify for the main draw on the WTA Tour.

In 2024, Andreeva would continue to improve as she qualified for the main draw of the Indian Wells Masters. She met Danielle Collins in the first round and pushed her to tie-breaks for both matches. The Russian teenager pushed Collins to the edge and cheered as she went up 5-4 in the second set. Her cheer caused Collins to scream her first “Shut up” of the year. She could not manage to win, but she had an iconic moment with the American player.

Now, Andreeva is looking to go further in her season by facing and, hopefully, demolishing Aryna Sabalenka. But form dictates Saba to be the winner.