Mirra Andreeva builds on impressive 2023 with record-setting win over Ons Jabeur

Of the many lessons Mirra Andreeva has learnt from her breakthrough 2023 campaign, one particularly stands out to her – it’s that tennis is just a game, and if she treats it like one, then things will likely go her way.

The WTA’s 2023 Newcomer of the Year started last season “crying every day for over a week” after losing to her best friend Alina Korneeva in the Australian Open girls’ final.

Little did Andreeva know that just 12 months later she would be defeating one of her idols, sixth-ranked Ons Jabeur, en route to the third round of the women’s draw at the Australian Open.

“I'm happy I played with Ons. It was one of my dreams to play against her because I really like the way she plays. I'm inspired by her. So today it meant a lot, this match that I won,” said the 16-year-old Andreeva in Melbourne on Wednesday after becoming the youngest player to defeat a top-10 seed in women’s singles at a major.

Andreeva’s defeat to Korneeva last year proved to be a turning point for the talented Russian. After making three finals in as many tournaments on the junior circuit at the beginning of 2023, Andreeva stepped up to the professional tour in April and won her first 16 matches in a row.

During that stretch, Andreeva picked up back-to-back W60 titles in Switzerland then announced herself on the WTA Tour in tremendous fashion, knocking out three top-50 players en route to the round of 16 at the Mutua Madrid Open.

It took eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka to halt her unbeaten run. But Andreeva, who turned 16 that week in the Spanish capital, had already made history as the youngest player to ever make it that far at a WTA 1000 event.

Mirra Andreeva told me in December she was targeting the top 30 this season, and if she got