Mirra Andreeva and two more Russians! Will our girls get the WTA award?
Arina Poluyanova November 24, 2023, 09:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
There is a desperate fight for the Rookie of the Year nomination. We compile the achievements of the contenders.
Russian tennis players performed well last season. 11 of them finished the year in the top 100 of the world rankings. Several more played in the minor and major final tournaments. And at the end of the season, five Russian women were nominated for the annual WTA award.
Three Russian tennis players were nominated for the Rookie of the Year category. The youngest of them is 16 years old, the oldest is 21 years old.
The young Mirra Andreeva is the first Russian woman who can become the WTA Rookie of the Year. She started this season as the number 293 racket in the world, but already in July she debuted in the top 100. In this she was helped by her successful performances in the first half of the year.
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At the “Mil” in Madrid, where Andreeva got the wild card after the final of the junior Australian Open, she reached the fourth round. At Roland Garros, Mirra went through all the qualifiers and played three rounds as a starter.
Andreeva also showed good results at Wimbledon: on the London courts she passed the qualifying round, then played in the main draw and reached the round of 16. During the season, Mirra beat top 20 tennis players four times: Barbora Krejcikova (twice), Magda Linett and Beatriz Haddad-Maia. The result: the 16-year-old athlete ends the year in 57th place in the world ranking.
Mirra Andreeva
Photo: Getty Images
In addition to Andreeva, 19-year-old Diana Schneider can receive the WTA award. The tennis player had a brilliant performance at the junior level: she played the semifinals of Roland Garros and the US Open 2021 in singles, and also became a three-time champion of Grand Slam tournaments in doubles (Wimbledon 2021, Australian Open and Open of the United States 2022).
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Last season, Schneider debuted in the top 100 of the world rankings. Her best results at the adult professional level were the semifinals of the WTA-250 series tournaments in Hamburg and Nanchang, as well as the final in Ningbo. In the fight for the title in the Chinese tournament, Diana lost to the first seed Ons Jabeur (2-6, 1-6).
Schneider is currently ranked 65th in the world. He although he started the season in 109th place.
Diana Schneider
Photo: Getty Images
The third Russian woman in the WTA nomination was Elina Avanesyan. The 21-year-old tennis player started in January at number 153 in the women’s ranking. During the season she competed in the quarterfinals of the 500 in Berlin, where she eliminated her compatriot Daria Kasatkina, and then she competed in the semifinals of the WTA-250 tournaments in Budapest and Lausanne.
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Avanesyan showed an excellent result at Roland Garros. In Paris, Elina lost the qualification, but as a lucky loser she entered the main draw, where she reached the fourth round. There the young Russian defeated Belinda Bencic (6-3, 2-6, 6-4).
Avanesyan finishes this season as the number 74 racket in the world. Elina’s best position in the ranking was 62nd place in September.
Elina Avanesian
Photo: Getty Images
Along with the Russians, the American Python Stearns (racket number 50 in the world) and the Czech Linda Noskova (41) will compete for the title of “Rookie of the Year”. The winner will be determined by journalists from the main sports media.
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