Despite a strong start to the season, Mirra Andreeva failed to make it past the fourth round of the Australian Open for the second year in a row.
Andreeva kicked off her 2026 campaign with a title, emerging victorious at the Adelaide International by beating fellow teenage sensation Victoria Mboko in the final.
Her run at Melbourne Park began with a tough test against Donna Vekic, but she earned two straight sets wins over Maria Sakkari and Elena-Gabriela Ruse to advance to round four.
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There, however, Andreeva was beaten by Elina Svitolina convincingly, with the Ukrainian coming out on top 6-2, 6-4.
After the 18-year-old’s exit, former world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov said she has ‘no prospects’ of winning a Grand Slam title.
Rick Macci says Mirra Andreeva will win more than one Grand Slam
Speaking on First and Red, Kafelnikov said: “To be honest, I wish I hadn’t watched that match between Andreeva and Svitolina, because it really revealed a huge number of shortcomings in Mirra’s game.
“And honestly, with the way she’s playing right now, I’ll say this – you can hate me, you can say whatever you want – but she has no prospects of becoming the world No. 1 or winning a Grand Slam. You need to look reality straight in the eye.”
Serena Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci, completely disagreed, however.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Macci said: “Asked what I thought of Kafelnikov saying Andreeva will never win a Grand Slam as she has too many holes in her game.
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“He is right and wrong. She will win more than one for sure. The only real rabbit hole in her game is her age.
“The Russian Rabbit is for real as she has power and feel,” concluded Macci, who has coached the Williams sisters, as well as Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova.
Mirra Andreeva’s best results at Grand Slams so far
Despite still being a teenager, Andreeva has already recorded some deep runs at Grand Slam tournaments.
In 2024, she enjoyed her best result at a major to date by reaching the semifinals of Roland Garros.
Andreeva knocked out second seed, Aryna Sabalenka, in the quarterfinals to book her place in the final four that year.
Despite the statement win over Sabalenka, Andreeva was then defeated by Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.
Last year, Andreeva made the quarterfinals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
She has yet to make it past the fourth round Down Under, and she has not gone further than round three at the US Open.
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