Recently, the topic of the change of citizenship by Russian athletes appears quite often on the agenda. The story of the (now ex) Russian tennis player Varvara Gracheva, who has already officially become French, has not yet been forgotten. And then there’s Tennis World USA, even though the name stands for South Africa, it posted a short note from which it follows that 16-year-old star Mirra Andreeva can follow Gracheva’s lead and get a French passport.
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How did these rumors come about? The fact is that Mirra and her older sister Erika, also an aspiring tennis player, live and train in France. They were both born in Krasnoyarsk, then lived and trained in Moscow, after which they moved to the academy in Cannes. Parallels can be traced with Gracheva, who lived in the new country for a sufficient time, passed the necessary language tests and received a French passport. But that’s where they end.
Lev Kassil, Mirra’s agent, said that the information about the possible acquisition of French citizenship by the ward is not true, adding that an official denial is being prepared. “Today’s information about Mirra’s possible acquisition of French citizenship is wrong. We are preparing a rebuttal”, Kassil said in an interview with “Campeonato”.
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But it’s not that simple
The president of the Russian Tennis Federation, Shamil Tarpishchev, pointed out where the danger could come from. According to Tarpishchev, the athlete’s parents are actively “processed”. It is not specified who exactly is doing this; apparently, people interested in luring Mirra under the French flag.
“It is the parents who will decide, not Andreeva. Of course, they are processed there from morning to night; we, the federation, can’t do anything here. We are limited now, I can’t even go to Roland Garros, talk, ”TASS quotes Tarpishchev.
Why did this topic arise with Andreeva?
The appearance of a new star in the sky always attracts attention. Mirra, at 16, if she hasn’t entered the elite yet, is somewhere outside of it. In January, Andreeva lost in the final of the junior Australian Open, and then made a splash at adult tournaments.
In the “thousand” of Madrid, the young tennis player reached the fourth round, where she was able to stop the second racket in the world, Arina Sobolenko. At Roland Garros, Mirra was eliminated in the third round, losing to Corey Gauff, another top ten in the world. Finally, at Wimbledon, Andreeva reached the 1/8 final, where she lost to Madison Keys, although she had excellent chances of winning during the match. Thanks to these successes, Mirra will rise to the top 70 of the WTA ranking and will already fall directly into the Slam networks, without any qualification.
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“Destined for Greatness”
The main foreign media also pay attention to Andreeva. Thus, the Daily Mail felt that Mirra was “doomed to greatness”.
“Mirra conquered many with her charisma and charm. She’s been studying English for five years, so she’s not as stressed as some of her older classmates. Even despite the pressure from her, she takes it all in stride. She’s happy to be a normal girl, chilling out watching Netflix like any other 16-year-old. However, the word “ordinary” will soon cease to fit into Andreeva’s vocabulary. Mirra speaks with a maturity beyond her years, and her focus is on working her way up to the top.
Mirra Andreeva at Wimbledon 2023
Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images
No one seems to know what his secret is. Maybe in the breakfast choice: scrambled eggs with tomato sauce, two chicken sausages, five slices of melon, six slices of watermelon and a glass of pineapple juice. Whatever it is, Andreeva seems destined for greatness, even if she is now content with the fact that she is a typical 16-year-old girl,” the publication notes.
The legendary Martina Hingis, a five-time TBS Champion, also shared her thoughts on Andreeva. She sometimes compares Mirra to Hingis, who at 17 already crushed everyone in the majors. She “She is very disciplined, she dominates all the blows. True, sometimes she doesn’t control the bottom line, so I would like to see her a little more aggressive. But at the same time, she Mirra does not fail, she is like a wall. She is already difficult to handle, but I think that in the future she will be able to take on more responsibilities and also attack when she has the opportunity to do so, ”Tennis 365 quotes Hingis.
