Mirra Andreeva shares many similarities with tennis great Martina Hingis, according to noted tennis coach, Anton Dubrov.
Dubrov is best known as the coach of Aryna Sabalenka, helping her become the World No. 1 player on the WTA Tour and win three Grand Slam trophies so far.
The 29-year-old Belarusian coach has been working with Sabalenka since 2020, and during that time, he's been able to see quite a few tennis players up close. Seeing a player up close is more useful than seeing them on film because there are many things that could be missed when observing someone just from the screen.
Dubrov has watched Mirra Andreeva plenty of times since she entered the ranks of professionals, and he's been quite impressed with what he has seen. Andreeva quite famously bested Sabalenka at this year's Roland Garros, which is still her best career win.
Sabalenka didn't feel the best in that match, which likely contributed to her losing, but there are plenty of things that Andreeva does well. In a recent interview with Championat, Dubrov praised Andreeva, noting that the hype is well-deserved because she is still only 17.
That's far from the norm, especially since he compared her to Martina Hingis. Hingis was known as a very smart and tactical player, who had a lot of success during her teenage years, and that's where the Belarusian coach saw the similarities.
"It's deserved, at least because she's 17 years old. And at the age of 17, her game reminds me of Martina Hingis: her understanding of the court is better than that of the vast majority of players."
"She can use any tactics and counter the strength of the opponent well: she understands better how to neutralize them. Which is very important."
Dubrov also lauded Andreeva's serve and simple style, which ultimately is what good tennis comes from. It's not that complicated of a game, and mastering the basics can often get players very far in their careers.
"If the girls come out and hope for some shots without playing the rally to the end, Mirra can neutralize the attack, force them to re-enter the rally. And when you are not ready for it, neither physically nor mentally, you start to fade away somewhere."
"She has a good serve, she plays simply. But the simpler it is, the better, because you're not trying to show off, but proceed from simple fundamentals. Everything comes together: her attractive game, her youth, which attracts media attention, which she copes with quite well."
One thing that Dubrov is very curious about is how the Russian teenager's development will progress in the coming years. She's a very competitive player with high ambitions, which she discussed in the past.
That's great to have, but ultimately, the amount of work she will put in will determine whether Andreeva will ever come close to her potential.
"But the question is how she will develop further physically and how her game develops. If she continues to strive to develop in the same way, then everything will be fine."
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