Mirra Andreeva reveals the sport that her parents nearly made her play instead of tennis

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Mirra Andreeva is one of the most exciting prospects on the WTA Tour already at just 17-years-old.

Andreeva is into the Madrid Open quarter-finals for a second consecutive year after beating Yulia Starodubtseva.

The Madrid Open is where it all started for her, with Andreeva winning her first WTA match in the Spanish capital two years ago.

However, there was nearly a chance that none of this would never have happened if her parents had selected a different sport for Andreeva.

Mirra Andreeva reveals that she nearly played volleyball instead of tennis

Andreeva has a tennis player sister, Erika, who is three years her senior and is currently the world number 97.

Despite being sisters, they have also recently played each other, with Mirra beating Erika by retirement in Stuttgart.

When speaking on the Tennis Insider Club podcast with former world number four Caroline Garcia, Mirra revealed that when Erika was born her parents were weighing up the possibility of either tennis or volleyball.

Unclear of the exact reasons why, tennis was chosen for Erika, before Mirra followed in that same path.

“I started when I was six-years-old because of my mum, who watched tennis,” said Mirra Andreeva. “First she had Erika, her and our father they were thinking either volleyball or tennis, because they wanted us to do some sports.

“My mum told us when she was pregnant with Erika she would wake up at night to watch some tennis matches and some volleyball matches. 

“They were thinking whether to give Erika to volleyball or tennis, in the end I don’t know how they chose tennis and then I didn’t really have a choice, you know. 

“I think since I was like two-years-old I have spent a lot of time on a tennis court. I was picking up some tennis balls trying to play, and I tried to play since I was like four, but I was so small and I couldn’t hold the tennis racket in my hand and I was like falling on the floor.

“And then I started trying playing when I was closer to six. It was not my choice they kind of forced me (laughs), that’s how we got to tennis.”

What has Mirra Andreeva achieved since becoming a professional tennis player?

Andreeva’s parents appear to have made the right choice for their daughter, as she has shot to stardom ever since.

This has been particularly relevant in 2025, with Andreeva winning Indian Wells and the Dubai Tennis Championships back-to-back.

These WTA 1000 title victories have enabled Andreeva to break into the top 10 of the rankings, where she currently sits at world number seven.

Andreeva has also had success at Grand Slams, reaching the semi-finals of Roland Garros last year.

She will look to continue this rise at the Madrid Open, with a quarter-final match against Coco Gauff on her 18th birthday coming up.