Mirra Andreeva could be set for a big 2026 tennis season after winning her first two significant WTA titles in 2025.
Last year, Andreeva became the youngest player in tennis history to win a WTA 1000 title when she defeated Clara Tauson in the Dubai Tennis Championships final.
She followed this triumph up by winning the Indian Wells Masters, becoming the youngest champion since Serena Williams.
What is your bold prediction for the 2026 tennis season?
The 18-year-old’s impressive play has not gone unnoticed by her peers on the Tour.
Ons Jabeur says she was surprised by Mirra Andreeva’s power
Ons Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, discussed her first match against Mirra Andreeva while speaking to Kim Clijsters on the Love All Podcast.
Andreeva first played Jabeur at the 2024 Australian Open. The Russian won the contest 6-0, 6-2.
A year later, the pair met again at the Brisbane Open. Again Andreeva won, this time by a scoreline of 6-4, 7-6.
Speaking about her first match against Andreeva [pictured below], Jabeur said: “[Mirra] Andreeva, she’s strong man, for her age. She hits really hard.
“The first time I played her I was surprised, she was 16, or something, she was already smacking the ball. She really hurt my shoulder!
“Even when I go and tap her shoulder, I’m basically tapping a wall or something, it’s too strong. This generation, I don’t know what they’re eating, but I should start doing that.
“She plays unbelievable, you can see that she’s missing a little bit of experience, but I think in the future, she’s honestly a great player, she has a great serve, forehand is unbelievable, with a little bit of spin.
“It’s good, also her grip is closed a little bit, but she’s doing a lot of damage with it. That’s the different side of it, if you want to hit more flat, then you will have a different grip and the advantage of hitting flat and the other way around with different grips.”
The Russian star will be hoping that the advice from Rafael Nadal can help her win a maiden Grand Slam title in 2026.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
Andreeva is certainly capable of doing so; it seems only a matter of time before she lifts her first major title.
Mirra Andreeva said it was a ‘dream’ to play Ons Jabeur
After defeating Jabeur [pictured below] at the 2024 Australian Open, Andreeva had some kind words for her Tunisian opponent.
“Of course I’m happy I played with Ons,” Andreeva said during her post-match press conference.
“It was one of my dreams to play against her, because I really like the way she plays.
“As I said before, I’m inspired by her. So it means a lot, today it meant a lot, this match that I won. I’m excited, yeah.”
When asked why Jabeur was an inspiration, Andreeva added: “I don’t know. Just the way she’s on the court and off the court. She’s so nice.
Now, after the match, she came to me, she wished me luck. I just know that she is who she is and she never change. That’s what I like about her.
