Mirra Andreeva has continued her impressive 2025 season at the WTA tournament where it all started for her.
Andreeva made her breakthrough at the Madrid Open in 2023, when she was just turning 16-years-old.
The Russian teenager has not looked back since, with Conchita Martinez guiding Andreeva into the top 10 of the WTA rankings under two years later.
Although everything appears to be great in her world, there are still improvements Andreeva needs to make and a big obstacle that she has recently faced on the WTA Tour.
Mirra Andreeva says playing her sister is the ‘hardest thing in the world’
Andreeva is now into the last-16 of the Madrid Open once again, after beating Magdalena Frech in straight sets to get herself into that position.
When speaking on the Madrid Open podcast ahead of the tournament, Mirra was asked about what it is like to play her older sister, Erika Andreeva, who is currently the world number 97.
This recently came to fruition, with Erika retiring against Mirra in Stuttgart to set their head-to-head at one win apiece.
Mirra made big predictions for her sister after that match, but has now admitted that she does not enjoy it when they cross paths in the same section of the draw.
“Yeah honestly, for me when I have to play my sister, we have faced each other twice and now the head-to-head is 1-1,” said Andreeva.
“Yeah, but for me it’s the hardest thing in the world for the moment, because we are super close and we share everything. When we play the same tournaments we share the room together, so literally she knows everything that’s going on in my life and the same as for me.
“It’s super tough to play against her, but on the tennis court we have to forget that we are related, we have to put everything aside and we have to face each other, and I have to think of her as my opponent and I want to win, so that’s what I try to do when I play against her. Of course it’s not easy, but it is what it is, I have to accept it.”
Mirra Andreeva explains why it has got harder to play her sister
The only other time that the Andreeva sisters have played on the WTA Tour came at the Wuhan Open last year, where Erika beat Mirra in straight sets.
Mirra elaborated on why she finds it so tricky to play Erika, her older sister by three years, and explained how her perspective has changed.
“For me, to play her now is harder, because when I was younger I was like ‘Yeah okay, but at least give me to win one game’,” explained Mirra. “Just a game or like a couple of points and I’m going to be happy.
“Of course when I was younger the only thing I wanted was to beat her, because I knew of course I’m not going to stand a chance against her.
“But, of course now I’m improving, she’s improving and now it’s more interesting to see who feels better on the day, who plays better on the day as well. For me to play her now is much harder.”
There will be no sibling rivalry at the Madrid Open this year, with Mirra Andreeva now looking to reach back-to-back quarter-finals at the tournament in the Spanish capital.
If Mirra Andreeva is to do that she will need to overcome Ukrainian qualifier Yulia Starodubtseva.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
