Russian former WTA star Anna Chakvetadze has hailed Mirra Andreeva\u2019s character and potential as she expressed her belief that her young compatriot \u201cwill shine at the Grand Slams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andreeva<\/a>, a former world No 1 Junior, has long been tipped for special things, with many in the tennis world viewing the 18-year-old as a future WTA No 1 and Grand Slam winner.<\/p>\n Legendary coach Rick Macci, who has worked with five players who became world No 1, confidently told Tennis365 last year that he expects Andreeva to reach \u201cdouble digits\u201d for Grand Slam titles<\/a>.<\/p>\n Andreeva is already an elite player; she is currently ranked ninth and reached her career-high ranking of fifth in July last year.<\/p>\n The Russian has won three WTA Tour<\/a> singles titles, having lifted her maiden title at the WTA 250 event in Iasi in 2024 and claimed back-to-back WTA 1000 crowns in Dubai and Indian Wells in early 2025 (before her 18th birthday).<\/p>\n The 18-year-old has recorded 10 wins over opponents ranked in the top 10 and has beaten Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina \u2014 three leading stars of women\u2019s tennis \u2014 twice each.<\/p>\n Andreeva\u2019s best Grand Slam result to date was reaching the semi-finals at the 2024 French Open, while she was a quarter-finalist at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the summer of 2025.<\/p>\n In an exclusive interview, Tennis365 asked Chakvetadze how close Andreeva is to challenging Sabalenka, Swiatek and Coco Gauff for Grand Slam titles.<\/p>\n \u201cMirra only needs to improve a few small details in her game,\u201d the former world No 5 said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is already a very high-quality, strong player, even despite a slight dip in form towards the end of the [2025] season.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I like most about her is that she is a real fighter. She doesn\u2019t like to lose, and I believe that makes her highly motivated to keep improving.<\/p>\n Ex-WTA star Anna Chakvetadze reflects on her standout memories \u2013 and a match fans still talk about<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Emma Raducanu\u2019s targets laid out by Grand Slam winner after troubled start to 2026<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHer game is quite solid and safe for now, but we have already seen that she can beat players like Swiatek and Sabalenka \u2014 she has done it at big tournaments. That shows her potential very clearly. She just needs a few adjustments to gain even more confidence in her game.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has strong character, and if she stays motivated and focuses not on what she already achieved, but on continuous improvement, I truly believe she can get there.\u201d<\/p>\n Chakvetadze went on to urge Andreeva not to be overly demanding of herself to the point it becomes \u201cdestructive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe is very demanding of herself, and I understand that very well,\u201d the eight-time WTA title winner continued.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing is that this self-criticism does not become destructive.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes being strict with yourself helps, but during longer difficult periods, it\u2019s important to allow yourself some freedom, to feel support, positivity and motivation from the outside.<\/p>\n \u201cI truly believe that Mirra will find her own path and that she will shine at the Grand Slams.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Andreeva, Chakvetadze \u2014 who made her WTA Tour debut at age 16 in 2003 \u2014 knows what it is like to make a big impression at a young age.<\/p>\n The Russian won her biggest title at the 2006 Kremlin Cup when she was 19 before reaching the US Open semi-finals and peaking at fifth in the world the following year, when she was 20.<\/p>\n Chakvetadze\u2019s illustrious career was cut short due to a chronic back injury in 2013, when she was just 26.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: 2026 WTA Adelaide International entry list, prize money, ranking points, key dates: Pegula, Keys lead field<\/a> The post \u2018Mirra Andreeva will shine at the Grand Slams \u2013 but she must not let one trait become destructive\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Russian former WTA star Anna Chakvetadze has hailed Mirra Andreeva\u2019s character and potential as she expressed her belief that her young compatriot \u201cwill shine at the Grand Slams.\u201d Andreeva, a former world No 1 Junior, has long been tipped for special things, with many in the tennis world viewing the 18-year-old as a future WTA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What did Anna Chakvetadze say about Mirra Andreeva?<\/h2>\n
Exclusive Interviews<\/h2>\n
Anna Chakvetadze\u2019s career<\/h2>\n
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