Breaking News: With a historic run at Roland Garros, Andreeva secures a spot in the Olympics as she says…

Mirra Andreeva grabbed a last-minute spot in the Olympics Race to Paris after her Roland Garros heroics in the past two weeks.

The Olympics tennis tournament is set to begin on July 27th. Sixty-four women will participate in the singles event, looking to stamp their names in the history books. Players will contest for bronze, silver, and gold medals.

Andreeva, who was born in Russia, is the fourth-highest-ranked player from her country in the race, leapfrogging Anna Kalinskaya. A single nation can only be represented by its four-best-ranked players in the Top 56, as that is the cut-off for those seeking direct entry through ranking.

But there is a caveat. Because Russian and Belarusian players will play as neutral athletes in the tournament, the question that has cropped up is how the International Tennis Federation (ITF) will simplify the eligibility requirements to accommodate the players from those two countries in the draw.

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Apart from ranking, qualifying players must meet some stipulations, including nomination in at least two Billie Jean King Cup events during the Olympic window, in this case from Tokyo 2020 to Paris 2024.

However, the ITF suspended Russia and Belarus from team competitions following Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory in early 2022. So, this will be an interesting development to follow in the next few weeks as the buildup to the Olympics is nearing.

At 17, Andreeva will be the youngest player in the tournament now that her spot in the Top 56 is secured. Her appearance will now depend on how the ITF works around the requirements that players need to satisfy.

The young Russian celebrates a Top 30 breakthrough this week after reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros. She earned a career-best win at the tournament when she beat World No. 3 and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal.

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Mirra Andreeva achieves career-best finish and snap with Andy Murray at the French Open

byCristhián Avila

Sunday, 09 June 2024 at 05:00

Mirra Andreeva finally managed to get a photo with her idol, Andy Murray, during the French Open. The 17-year-old has frequently expressed her admiration for the three-time Grand Slam champion, and this time at Roland Garros, she got the chance to snap a picture with him just before achieving her best career performance in a Grand Slam.

With only a year on the WTA Tour, Andreeva has already established herself as a top-tier player. At the French Open, she reached the semifinals, defeating notable opponents such as Victoria Azarenka, Varvara Gracheva, and world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, before falling to Jasmine Paolini in straight sets. Nevertheless, Andreeva’s remarkable performance will propel her into the top-25 of the WTA rankings for the first time in her career, landing at No. 23.

The Long-Awaited Photo with Murray

The young Russian burst onto the global tennis scene during the 2023 Madrid Open. At just 15 years old (she turned 16 during the tournament), she defeated two top-20 players and reached the quarterfinals before losing to Sabalenka. In an interview, Andreeva shared her favourite part of competing at the Caja Mágica:

“The atmosphere is so special. You take a lunch with all these stars, let’s say. You see Andy Murray… you see his face and he’s so beautiful in life. He’s so amazing,” she said. A few hours later, Andy Murray humorously responded on Twitter: “Imagine how good she’s going to be when she gets her eyes fixed.”

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Since then, Andreeva has consistently praised Murray and expressed her admiration for him. Their connection deepened when, during the Australian Open, the former world No. 1 defended Andreeva against criticism from a commentator during her match at the 2024 Australian Open:

“Andreeva down 5-1 in third. Commentator: ‘She really needs to work on the mental side of her game. She’s too hard on herself when she’s losing.’ 30 minutes later, Andreeva wins 7-6. Maybe the reason she turned the match around is because of her mental strength. Maybe she turned the match around because she is hard on herself and demands more of herself when she’s losing/playing badly? Winner.”

At the French Open, a photo of the Russian star and the veteran former world No. 1 at Roland Garros was shared. When asked if reaching the semifinals or finally getting a photo with her idol was better, Andreeva said: “Both are good. It was a nice moment at the beginning of the tournament because I had a gift. I had, like, a retro camera. I was, like, well, I have to do a lot of potos,” Andreeva said.

“I had 25 or 30 pictures that I can do. So, well, I made a list with who I want to take a picture. Of course, Andy, he was first on the list because, I mean, we had a few interactions, but I don’t even have a photo with him. I was, like, well, we need to fix that. I saw him few times before, but he was warming up, he was eating. So I was, like, well, next time, next time.”

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“Then on that day I saw him just talking to his team. I was, like, Well, he’s busy, no, no, no. My coach was, like, No, you go, you do it, and after we forget about it. So she kind of pushed me to him. Well, finally, I had a picture with him.”

𝕹𝖎𝖐𝖔𝖑𝖆 𝕳𝖆𝖉𝖏𝖎𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖛 𝕏 🇺🇦 🇧🇬

@nikolahn

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Mirra Andreeva finally getting a photo with her idol Andy Murray. 😊💕