Kim Clijsters names the WTA player who can ’cause some damage’ at the French Open

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The clay-court season is well underway, as the stars of the WTA Tour continue their French Open preparations.

Coco Gauff will return to Paris as the defending champion, but she isn’t the only player in with a chance of lifting the Suzanne Lenglen Cup.

Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina will all be in contention to win the second Grand Slam of the year.

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As will another top-10 star, who Kim Clijsters is tipping to ’cause some damage’ at the French Open.

Kim Clijsters praises Mirra Andreeva ahead of the French Open

During the latest episode of ‘Love All‘, Clijsters delivered her verdict on Andreeva’s victorious Linz Open campaign.

“[Mirra] Andreeva, with the way she was playing too, just a very mature tournament that she played,” said Clijsters.

“I feel like she was moving great, she hits the ball hard, but also heavy, so on the clay court, definitely somebody who can really cause some damage.

Mirra Andreeva at the Linz Open

• 2026 Linz Open 2R [WIN] vs Sloane Stephens, 6-4, 6-2
• 2026 Linz Open QF [WIN] vs Sorana Cirstea, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2
• 2026 Linz Open SF [WIN] vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse, 6-4, 6-1
• 2026 Linz Open F [WIN] vs Anastasia Potapova, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3

“To see her mentally being positive and enjoying herself out there is good to see, and she is somebody who can cause some damage at the French Open.”

Andreeva won her second title of the year in Linz, as she continues to impress on the WTA Tour.

As Clijsters rightly mentioned, the Russian will be one to look out for at Roland Garros.

After all, Andreeva has impressed on her last two visits to the French capital.

In 2024, Andreeva stunned Sabalenka en route to the semi-finals, before reaching the quarter-finals in 2025.

Still only 18, she has already won 11 matches at the French Open, statistically her best Grand Slam tournament.

Mirra Andreeva’s Grand Slam record

Looking at those numbers, there’s no reason to doubt Andreeva… Or is there?

Mirra Andreeva’s big-match problem

Andreeva walked on court for her 2025 French Open quarter-final as the heavy favourite, taking on the world number 361, Lois Boisson.

What followed was almost hard to watch.

Andreeva struggled to cope with the overwhelming crowd support Boisson received and was in tears as she lost in straight sets.

The emotional side of Andreeva reappeared later in the year as she began to lose ground in the race for a WTA Finals spot.

Losing her opening match in Wuhan, Andreeva was seen crying again.

Then, at this year’s Indian Wells tournament, the 18-year-old appeared to shout and swear at the crowd after losing to Katerina Siniakova.

When the pressure is on and the eyes are on Andreeva, there’s a degree of unpredictability to what she might say or do.

That doesn’t affect her in some of the smaller events on tour, like the Linz Open, where she was the only top-10 player in attendance.

But at the WTA 1000 and Grand Slam events, those issues often resurface.

Winning a Grand Slam is difficult, and to do so, you must face and overcome adversity along the way.

Andreeva has yet to prove she can do that.

On the other hand, if we’re purely talking about her tennis, she is a Grand Slam contender.

The Russian is dangerous and, on her day, can beat pretty much anyone.

Andreeva is currently ranked inside the top 10 and is deserving of her spot among the world’s elite.

WTA Top 10

Whether she can take that next step and begin challenging for a place in the top three is another question altogether.

Whatever the future holds for Andreeva, you certainly won’t want to miss it.

Andreeva is scheduled to play her opening match in Stuttgart against Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday, April 15.