Mirra Andreeva is back where it all began, in Madrid, a city she calls her "place of power" because of her success.
Andreeva's seismic introduction to life on the women's tour came full circle when she competed at the Madrid Open last season. After impressing during the Australian Open juniors' tournament, where she would finish as runner-up, she won back-to-back ITF titles in Switzerland in April.
Tournament organizers in Madrid offered the then-15-year-old Andreeva a wild card into the main draw for her first WTA 1000 appearance. She wasted no time in announcing herself on the main stage, with eye-catching wins over 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and Brazil's No. 1 Beatriz Haddad Maia.
On her 16th birthday, Andreeva defeated the 2023 Australian Open semifinalist and a player twice her age, Magda Linette. Her fairytale run ended with a fourth-round defeat to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.
In an interview with WTA Insider, Andreeva reflected on that run, which served as a catalyst to a breakout year that yielded a third-round finish at Roland Garros and the second week of Wimbledon.
"I feel like Madrid is my place of power. I watched some highlights of my matches last year and I tried to see and understand what I did good, why I had this small success."
"I didn't see anything, honestly, nothing special. Last year, I came here hoping that I will win some matches with some kind of miracle. I was hoping that maybe my opponents will make the match turn my way. But now I know to win the match I have to do everything by myself, and this match today also proved it."
Andreeva kicked off her 2024 Madrid open campaign with an impressive three-set comeback win against Taylor Townsend. She repeated the feat by downing fellow teen Linda Noskova in the second round.
And on the eve of her 17th birthday, she will face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. The young Russian believes she is "more mature" compared to 12 months ago when she came to Madrid with just one tour-level main draw appearance.
"I feel like I'm a bit more mature, even if it's been just one year. In five days I'm going to be 17. I'm a little bit nervous about that. I don't want to get old."