Mirra Andreeva fined $8,000 for ‘unsporting behaviour’ after Wimbledon exit

Mirra Andreeva has been fined a total of $8,000 (£6,190) after being punished following her fourth round Wimbledon defeat, with the 16-year-old breaking new ground at a major.

Andreeva reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career at Wimbledon, with the teenager following in the footsteps of Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff.

The Russian was looking to become the youngest player to reach the quarter-final of Wimbledon since Anna Kournikova in 1997 when playing Eastbourne champion Madison Keys.

Despite being 6-3 4-1 down, Keys managed to battle her way back into the match and continued her now 9-match winning streak, however the match was not without its controversies.

After failing to close out the second set, Andreeva launched her racket in frustration and received a warning for a code violation over unsportsmanlike conduct.

Further along in the match when Keys was pushing towards victory, Andreeva was adjudged to have thrown her racket again at 5-2 40-40.

Andreeva then received a second warning from umpire Azemar Engzell, who then gave her an automatic point penalty to give Keys a match point which she took on her first attempt.

The WTA No.102 argued with the umpire that she had slipped, but Engzell did was not having any of it. After losing the match, Andreeva elected to shake the hands of Keys, but not the umpire.

"You don't understand what you're doing" 😡

Do we think this was an innocent slip or a deliberate throw from Mirra Andreeva? 🤔#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/044UfgQN0Q

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 11, 2023

Andreeva was asked about the situation in her press conference, “The first warning I got, I think I deserved it … I was a bit frustrated. So that’s why I threw the racket. Here I cannot say anything, she was right to give me a warning. I didn’t complain or talk to her about it.”

The 16-year-old continued, “For me (the second time) it’s a controversial point because I’m not sure if… I don’t know which decision was right. But, honestly, I didn’t have any intention to throw the racquet. I slid.

“Honestly, I thought that I will fall forward. Maybe it did look like I threw the racquet. I don’t know. I didn’t see any videos yet For me, she didn’t do a right decision. Yes, that’s why I didn’t want to shake hands with her.”

Although Andreeva’s Wimbledon run has finished in a sour manor, the Russian has still had a Championships to be proud of.

Mirra Andreeva and her rapid rise to stardom

Andreeva began the year ranked just inside the WTA top 300, but after playing only three main tour events will move inside the top 70 when the new rankings are released on Monday.

Here is how Andreeva found success in Madrid, Paris and London:

Madrid Masters

As a then 15-year-old, Andreeva received a wildcard before beating Leylah Fernandez, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Magda Linette, eventually losing in the fourth round to No.2 and eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.

Roland Garros

After coming through three matches in qualifying, Andreeva picked up her first senior main draw Grand Slam victory over Alison Riske-Amritraj. She went onto lose in the third round to 2022 finalist Coco Gauff in a three set contest.

Wimbledon

Andreeva made it through qualifying once again, before beating Xiyu Wang, 2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova and compatriot Anastasia Potapova, before falling in a tightly-contested battle with Madison Keys.

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