Mirra Andreeva has struggled for form since her run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals in June.
The world number six started the year strong, capturing two WTA 1000 titles at the Dubai Tennis Championships and Indian Wells.
However, since Wimbledon, her results have been poor.
After Wimbledon, Andreeva was upset in the Canadian Open third round by McCartney Kessler, before being shocked by Taylor Townsend in the US Open third round.
During the Asian swing, the Russian’s results have continued to be disappointing, losing early at the China Open and Wuhan Open.
Andreeva’s poor form continued on Wednesday: she was stunned by world number 219 Lin Zhu in her first match at the Ningbo Open.
Tennis fans must remember how young Mirra Andreeva is
Mirra Andreeva has been a mainstay on the WTA Tour for over two years since her breakthrough at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Consequently, it is easy to forget just how young the Russian is.
In recent months, the 18-year-old has not achieved the results her talent demands. However, she is still in the infancy of her career.
Fans should not forget how good Andreeva can be: she is an otherworldly talent, someone who will surely go on to achieve great things on the WTA Tour.
She can be forgiven for a dip in form, especially at such an early stage in her career.
To treat Andreeva as a veteran of the sport would be unfair – she must be given space and time to grow into her best self on the WTA Tour.
If anything, Andreeva should be praised for what she has achieved on Tour this season: winning two WTA 1000 titles at her age is no small feat.
She also broke into the WTA top five for the first time this year, which is an extremely impressive accomplishment.
Mirra Andreeva’s next tournament
Mirra Andreeva is not on the entry list for the Pan Pacific Open, Guangzhou Open, Jiangxi Open, Chennai Open or Hong Kong Open.
However, she will be expected to participate in the WTA Finals, if she qualifies.
Three players are currently battling for the final two spots: Andreeva, Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina.
Andreeva will qualify for the finals for the first time if Rybakina loses to Dayana Yastremska on Thursday.
Coco Gauff is the defending WTA Finals champion. The American defeated China’s Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 in the 2024 final.
