(VIDEO) Mirra Andreeva repeatedly punches herself after being broken at critical time against Anisimova in Dubai
WTAFriday, 20 February 2026 at 10:00
Mirra Andreeva was involved in an almighty clash against the world number six Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinal stage of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. She was looking to defend the title that she won last year, but ultimately the mantle will be passed onto someone else after a three-set thriller resulted in her coming out second best.
It is the first of two consecutive WTA 1000 titles the 18-year-old is attempting to defend in terms of ranking points, putting a whole chunk of pressure on her shoulders. This pressure looks to have over-spilled onto the court in a fiery outburst where she took out her own frustration on herself.
From the off it was looking promising for Andreeva who stormed out into a 6-2 lead. Anisimova's level was significantly down on what spectators had expected but it would rise in the second set as she started to mount a comeback. A four-game spurt saw her move 5-2 ahead.
She was in prime position to force a level match and deciding set but back came Andreeva. She got the break back as she got back on terms with the American with the scores planted at 5-5. The momentum was in Andreeva's hands but as the pattern of the match went that does not mean an awful lot. Anisimova stopped the rut to get back to winning games before breaking to love to secure the second set.
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Emotions becoming visible on court
The pair traded breaks at the start of the third set with both of them struggling to find any sort of consistency on court. Andreeva was better off as she ended up going 3-1 ahead, but it started to get a bit too much for her. She was faced with a break point by Anisimova who allowed Andreeva's return to go long. As she walked back to her chair relieved to get the set back on serve, her opponent was having a meltdown the other side of the net. Andreeva repeatedly punched her leg in anger and frustration that she let another opportunity slip, visibly upset and emotional.
She had to compose herself as Anisimova broke the serve before creating a match point. It was not converted and Andreeva broke back, commencing a three game winning streak which put her in a position to serve it out. Fate was repeated and a resilient Anisimova forced a tiebreak. It would be the two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist who raced out into a 6-2 lead before clinching her fourth match point to book a spot in a fourth WTA 1000 semi-final.
Mirra Andreeva showing passion on court
Too much to take for Andreeva who now looks to the next task in hand
After the match Andreeva burst into tears as she packed her stuff and evacuated the court in a gut-wrenching manner. She will not be defending all of the ranking points from last year, meaning 785 points will be taken away from her overall tally.
Another 1000 will be on the line in the Indian Wells Open. Andreeva did marvellously last year to take down world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final to win back-to-back WTA 1000 titles, but it is an uphill challenge to get back to her best form.
Over the winter she worked a lot on her mindset after a woeful end to 2025 in which she failed to qualify for the WTA Finals after looking primed to be making her debut in Riyadh, just being pipped at the last second by eventual champion Elena Rybakina. Despite this, she is unable to keep her frustrations in check on court due to the pressure put on her. She will reset and go again over in the United States.
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- It's sad... but Rybakina is not going to be able to endure her groomer's interference in Life and still excel to her best level. BTW: No media has reported her last sentence to the physio. They kept asking questions and she abruptly told them: "I know what it is; I'm ready to go now".
- You seem to have 'lost the plot' ??
- This needs to be done, and I think Jessica Pegula is an excellent choice for chair to look into the situation. However, a very brief look at the other members of the panel would suggest a very USA heavy contingent. The group needs to represent all interests, not just turn it into a way the US can screw more money out of an already biased calendar.
- The tennis world should be kissing her feet for taking-on this long needed position in a much needed council. The WTA and ATP need a good shaking-up. Pegula's business heritage is a proven one. Let's hope she and her colleagues can stop WTA & ATP from shutting their work down and out. GO GET 'EM !!
- So the Sportswasher's largest market is... the Filipino community? That's all well and good but the hundreds and hundreds of empty seats throughout is embarrassing. Talk about bad optics!
- The poor Head Sportswasher has been whining and crying in the media, and basically threatening Saba, Iga, etc. Must be a real Ego Buster when they dangle money and people (especially Women) say, 'No thanks'.
- "Losing-itis" is not uncommon in Emma's small world. Just keeps begging the question, 'What are sponsors paying for? Limited tennis appearances... or Social Selfie Media presence?'
- Dubai can suck it up like everyone else. Just because they think they run the show, they do not. Sportswashing does not give them Power.
- You're losing your mind here.. You use a lot of space, yet inadequate knowledge. Read the WTA Rule Book 2026; it answers all your questions and accusations.
- Why single out Iga and Aryna to punish?, Since when do players get punish because they withdraw from tournaments? Maybe if they both were treated like number one and two players, they would not have this problem. The WTA discriminates against them because of their nationalities, yet they want to make money off them. Every tournament, Iga has harder draws than qualifiers from the beginning to the end. In the Australian Open they stuck Aryna out in the sun the majority of her matches in order to tire her out. She is the number one player in the world and she never got the opportunity to play with the roof closed. If they want these top players to continue playing and making money for them, then they should treat them as such. Otherwise, get the players who they are always giving out cupcake draws to like Pegula to play their tournaments. Lets see how many seats in the audience she will fill. Iga has more fans in the seats than any player in the WTA, yet she is always disrespected and mistreated because of her nationality. The WTA is a corrupt, bias and racist organization. No matter what job someone is on, you cannot tell them that they are not sick or injured.
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