Follow us on Google Discover Mirra Andreeva is a big topic of conversation at the moment, with her struggles on show in recent months.
Andreeva won Indian Wells and the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this year, and has reached a career-high ranking of world number five.
Despite remaining in the top 10 of the WTA rankings, Andreeva has appeared very distressed on court in recent months and has lost her last three matches.
This has been far from ideal for Andreeva in her bid to qualify for the WTA Finals, with Elena Rybakina breathing down her neck, and now Lindsay Davenport has pointed out a recent mistake she has made.
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Andreeva’s latest defeat came against world number 171 Lin Zhu at the Ningbo Open, the WTA 500 tournament where she was the top seed.
When discussing Andreeva’s recent misfortunes, former world number one players Tracy Austin and Davenport admitted their concerns for the 18-year-old.
“Yeah this has actually been tough to watch for Andreeva, who had such a great start to the year,” Austin said when speaking on Tennis Channel. “This was against the wildcard Zhu in the second round, and Andreeva actually won the first set, but then started to get so emotional.
“I think it’s so many losses since Wimbledon, she’s tired, she’s 18 years old, she’s been a target for a while. I actually think that Roland Garros quarterfinal loss to [Lois] Boisson where she was so emotional there, I think that took a lot out of her, a lot of scar tissue there, so many early rounds Lindsay.”
Davenport followed up on Austin’s point by suggesting that Andreeva has been playing too much in her bid to qualify for the WTA Finals and advised coach Conchita Martinez to tell her to end her season to prepare for 2026.
“Yeah, really after Wimbledon her season has not been what she wanted, a lot of pressure on her,” added Davenport. “But, if you are in Mirra’s camp you have to have more of a long-term view. Didn’t seem like she needed to play all that much during this fall.
“She’s 18 years old, she’s most likely going to be a Grand Slam champion, still so young. I just wonder about the push so hard to make the Finals this year, she’s still a teen and if you look at it, probably in your mind you’re hoping she’s playing at least another 10, 15 years and when you look at her on the court she’s crying in so many matches, mentally looks absolutely exhausted.
“I don’t know, I think at some point you’ve got to look at the big picture, is this really worth it right now? Maybe let’s just get her mentally right and ready for the next season.”
Lindsay Davenport reveals the real reason why Mirra Andreeva is not playing in Tokyo
Andreeva currently holds the eighth and final place to qualify for the WTA Finals, but after Elena Rybakina won the Ningbo Open that position is at risk.
Davenport wanted Andreeva not to play as much, and she is not competing in Tokyo this year despite only being 15 points ahead of Rybakina in the race.
While that could have been as a result of wanting to look after herself, Davenport reported that it was actually because she could not receive a visa for the tournament in Tokyo.
“I mean she is absolutely trending in the right direction, the question is can she recover?” Davenport said about Rybakina. “There’s still so much she’s got to play for, she’s got to get to the semifinals of the next tournament to be able to pass Mirra Andreeva and get that final spot.
“Her game has picked up, she has played so much better this fall, she looks healthy again, that’s the most important thing with her, she’s playing that aggressive tennis. Got a little bit of a break, Mirra Andreeva could not get a visa to go to Japan, therefore she controls her destiny if she wins these matches.”
Rybakina knows what she needs to do to qualify for the WTA Finals, while Andreeva just has to sit and wait to learn her fate.
Regardless of what happens for singles qualification, Andreeva is already set to play at the WTA Finals in Riyadh as she has qualified for the doubles tournament alongside Diana Shnaider.