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

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 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.”

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.”

“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.”