Mirra Andreeva’s opening round win at the 2024 Wuhan Open saw her match a Coco Gauff record highlighting her remarkable early career success.
The 17-year-old Russian star prevailed 7-6(5), 6-3 against world No 99 Wang Xiyu at the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan.
Following her win, Andreeva was asked about her goals and revealed she had already achieved the target she had set for the 2024 season.
“Of course, as every athlete, you want to go higher and higher in the rankings. You want to win more and more matches and tournaments,” said the world No 19.
“Yeah, for now I’ve completed my goal that I’ve set for myself till the end of the year. I’m very happy with that.
“I don’t want to set any goals for this tournament and for the rest of the tournaments, as well. I’m going to set another one next year. But for now I’m okay. I’m good.
“Yeah, just I wish next year I could win more tournaments and go higher in rankings. Of course, next year I have a lot of points to defend, so that’s also going to be one of the first times when I probably going to struggle with that maybe mentally, physically.
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“I don’t know. That’s also going to be a new experience for me, how to deal with the pressure of defending points. We’re going to see how I handle it. I hope I’m not going to have any trouble.
“Yeah, we’ll see what’s going to happen. I’m just hoping that, yeah, I will win a couple of tournaments maybe.”
With her win in Wuhan, Andreeva has equalled Gauff for the most matches won at WTA 1000 events in a season before the age of 18.
Here are the five times players have won five or more WTA 1000 matches in a year before turning 18, with Andreeva featuring twice.
Andreeva played only two WTA 1000 tournaments in 2023 and she amassed a 5-2 record.
The Russian reached the fourth round at the Madrid Open and the third round at the China Open.
Amanda Anisimova made three WTA 1000 main draw appearances in 2018 and finished with a 6-2 record.
The American reached the fourth round in Indian Wells, the second round in Miami (where she withdrew) and the third round in Cincinnati.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova competed in five WTA Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 events in 2009 and earned a 9-5 record.
The Russian reached the second round in Dubai, the semi-finals in Indian Wells, the second round in Miami, the first round in Madrid and the third round in Tokyo.
Andreeva is playing her seventh WTA 1000 tournament of 2024 in Wuhan and she holds an 11-6 record after her opening win at the event.
The Russian was a quarter-finalist in Madrid, Cincinnati and Beijing, while she fell in the first round in Dubai, Indian Wells and Rome.
Gauff featured at seven WTA 1000 events in 2021 and she compiled an 11-7 record.
The American reached the semi-finals at the Italian Open, the quarter-finals in Dubai and Rome, the third round in Indian Wells, the second round in Miami and Cincinnati, and the opening round in Madrid.
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