Alina Korneeva was supposed to be the next big thing — now she's finally catching up amid Canadian Open run

Alina Korneeva was once considered one of the biggest teenage talents in women's tennis. But while her friend and fellow Russian Mirra Andreeva quickly became a WTA star, Korneeva's own rise stalled on the lower-level circuit. Now, after her breakthrough run at the Canadian Open, she may finally be catching up.

The result provides another indication that Korneeva may finally be translating the potential she showed as a junior into consistent success on the professional circuit. She was the ITF junior world No. 1 in 2023 and won both the Australian Open and Roland Garros girls’ singles titles that year, becoming one of the most accomplished juniors of her generation. Korneeva was once one of the biggest junior stars in the world, took longer than expected to make the transition, and is now finally starting to show why she was so highly rated.

Korneeva's progression to the senior level, however, has taken longer than the spectacular rise of her contemporary Mirra Andreeva. While Andreeva quickly established herself among the WTA's elite as a teenager, Korneeva spent several seasons developing on the ITF circuit and competing in lower-level events. Her ranking progression was steady but did not initially match the expectations created by her junior achievements.

That trajectory has changed in 2026. Korneeva has won a W75 title, captured her first WTA 125 trophy, reached her first WTA 1000 main draw and made her Grand Slam main-draw debut. She also broke into the Top 100 for the first time and reached a career-high No. 75 before her Canadian Open run. Now, with her US Open debut approaching, the 19-year-old is beginning to look increasingly ready for another major step forward.

Korneeva's junior career was closely linked with that of Mirra Andreeva, who was one of her closest friends and doubles partners. The two met in the final of the Australian Open girls' singles in 2023, with Korneeva winning the title. They also reached the junior doubles semifinals together, making their simultaneous emergence particularly notable.

Before the Australian Open final, Andreeva highlighted the strength of their friendship and their relationship away from the court. The match itself then became the first major chapter in what would become a fascinating comparison between two players who were widely regarded as leading talents of their generation. “She is a really good friend of mine, my best friend,” Andreeva said before the final to the ITF.

Korneeva ultimately won the match (6-7, 6-4, 7-5), but the rivalry was clearly only beginning. After the final, she addressed Andreeva directly on court and pointed toward the possibility of many more meetings as both players continued their careers. “It's not our last battle. We will have a lot of good matches when you will win, when I will win...it was a hard battle.” Has Korneeva finally caught up? Not yet but she is getting there.

The two teenagers would subsequently take very different routes into professional tennis. Andreeva's transition happened almost immediately. Later in 2023, she reached the fourth round of the Madrid Open, made the third round at Roland Garros and began defeating established players on the WTA Tour despite being only 16. She finished the season inside the Top 50 and was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year.

Korneeva followed a more gradual route. While Andreeva was already competing deep into WTA 1000 and Grand Slam tournaments, Korneeva was building her ranking through ITF events and lower-level competitions. She nevertheless made considerable progress, moving from outside the Top 500 to close to the Top 150 at just 16 years old.

That difference in trajectory is an important part of Korneeva's story. Her development was not necessarily slower because of a lack of talent, but because her transition from dominant junior to established professional required more time. Her 2026 results now suggest that the gap between her junior reputation and her senior results is finally beginning to close.

Korneeva's 2023 campaign remains one of the strongest junior seasons of recent years. After winning the Australian Open girls' singles title, she defeated Lucciana Pérez in the Roland Garros final to become the first player since Magdalena Maleeva in 1990 to win the opening two Grand Slam junior singles tournaments of the season.

The second major title also confirmed her position as the ITF junior world No. 1. Korneeva subsequently made her WTA main-draw debut at the Hong Kong Open, where she recorded her first tour-level victory against Valeria Savinykh before losing in the second round to Linda Fruhvirtova.

She finished the season by winning the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals, defeating Sara Saito in the final. The combination of two junior Grand Slam titles, the world No. 1 ranking and the Junior Finals crown made Korneeva the standout junior player of 2023.

The achievements naturally created expectations that she would follow a trajectory similar to Andreeva. She did make an encouraging start in 2024, qualifying for the Australian Open and recording her first Grand Slam main-draw victory against Sara Sorribes Tormo before losing to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round.

The next stage of Korneeva's development was considerably less straightforward. She did not even play Grand Slam qualifying during much of the remainder of 2024, although she produced some notable results at lower levels, including a doubles final at the Kaskin Open alongside Anastasia Zakharova.

Her 2025 season followed a similar pattern. Korneeva collected solid results on the ITF circuit and remained around the Top 200, but her attempts to move into the WTA level repeatedly ended early. She lost in qualifying at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, leaving her junior achievements increasingly distant from her professional results.

The breakthrough finally arrived in 2026. Korneeva began the season by winning the W75 tournament in Manama, defeating Fiona Ferro in the final, before claiming her first WTA 125 title in Oeiras against Darja Vidmanova. She then qualified for her first WTA 1000 main draw and made her Roland Garros debut after coming through qualifying.

In Paris, Korneeva defeated Julia Riera in the opening round and then earned her second Grand Slam main-draw victory against Elisabetta Cocciaretto before losing to Anna Kalinskaya. She subsequently broke into the Top 100 and qualified for Wimbledon, although she lost in the first round of her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the All England Club.

Korneeva's progress accelerated again during the early hard-court swing. She reached the semifinals of the Athens Open and climbed to a career-high No. 75 before arriving in Toronto, where she once again had to come through qualifying.

Her Canadian Open campaign quickly became the most significant WTA 1000 run of her career. Korneeva defeated 23rd seed Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-2 before beating 13th seed Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-4. The victory over Jovic represented her first win against a Top-30 opponent and her first against a Top-15 player.

The run ended against Gauff in the fourth round, with the American winning 6-3, 6-1 on Centre Court. Korneeva could not maintain the level required to challenge the two-time Grand Slam champion, but reaching the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event represented another clear step in her development.

Her rise may have taken longer than expected when compared with Andreeva, but that comparison can obscure how unusual her development actually is. Korneeva is still only 19, already owns two junior Grand Slam titles, a WTA 125 title and a WTA 1000 fourth-round appearance, and has reached the Top 75.

She is also leaving Toronto without significant ranking points to defend in the coming weeks, giving her another opportunity to climb. With the US Open approaching and her confidence growing, Korneeva is increasingly looking like a player whose ceiling remains far higher than her current ranking suggests.

The interesting thing about Korneeva is that the hype never disappeared — it simply went quiet. Toronto has brought it back. She may never follow exactly the same path as Andreeva, but after years of waiting, Korneeva is finally beginning to look like the player her junior career promised she could become.