Mirra Andreeva has just turned 18. On 29 April 2007, one of the most promising talents in world tennis was born. She has celebrated her birthday in Madrid for the last three years. Here are 18 reasons to celebrate the coming of age of a player who is destined to become one of the biggest names in tennis in the coming decade. As you read them, don’t forget, she achieved all of this before her 18^th birthday.

1. She was the junior world number one at just fifteen years of age and the Junior Australian Open champion in 2022.
2. Her first win on the WTA Tour came at the Mutua Madrid Open in 2023, at 15. She beat Leylah Fernández before eventually bowing out in round three.
3. Last year, in her second appearance in the Spanish capital, at just 16 years of age, she reached the quarterfinals, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
4. Andreeva is already ranked number 7 in the world.
5. Not only is she firmly established in the Top 10, she is also the third best player so far this year.
6. She has won two WTA 1000 titles and has a total of three titles on tour. All before reaching adulthood.
7. Olympic silver; alongside Diana Shnaider she won silver at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. They lost the doubles final to Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.
8. She played her first major at Roland Garros in 2023 and won her first two matches there, taking down Alison Riske and Diana Parry.
9. Her best singles result at a Grand Slam is the semifinals she reached this year at the Australian Open.
10. With her triumph at this season’s WTA 1000 in Dubai she became the youngest player in history to win a tournament in that category (17 years and 10 months)
11. She has also managed to find time to win a WTA 1000 in doubles alongside Shnaider this season in Miami.
12. Her coach is Conchita Martínez. The former Wimbledon champion and Mirra joined forces twelve months ago to create a winning duo.
13. She has a fantastic connection with the fans. Despite her character and apparent shyness, she has no difficulty connecting with the spectators.
14. From the start of the week, she has been promising she will celebrate her birthday in Madrid and she kept her promise by winning her first three matches.
15. She will now be vying for her best finish in Madrid, the quarterfinals, against Coco Gauff.
16. She can now open her first bank account. Andreeva acknowledged this week that, despite the fact she has won various tournaments and plenty of prize money, she was not yet allowed to open a bank account. Of course, all that has changed today and she will now have somewhere to keep the five million dollars she has won so far!
17. Her biggest challenge to date? She says one of the toughest things for her is playing against her sister Erika. Their head-to-head is tied at one apiece, but Mirra does not find it easy to face her: “We’re very close, we do everything together, we share a room and I don’t like playing against her at all”.
18. A huge fan of the silver screen, she lives in Cannes, although she is yet to go to the famous film festival because it takes place during the clay swing. She says that one of her favourite films is The Notebook: “I saw it recently and I thought it was amazing. I cried a lot but I enjoyed it”.