Tennis's Next Big Star, Mirra Andreeva, Told Me About Working With Nike and Rolex at 17 Years Old

To say that 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva is having a great start to the year would be the tennis world's biggest understatement. In February, she won the trophy at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, making her the youngest ever player to win a WTA 1000 title. The victory also propelled her ranking into the top ten for the first time. Lest you think that triumph was just a flash in the pan, Andreeva followed it up weeks later by winning her second WTA 1000 title: the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, in which she powered her way through No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the finals. (And wore a Rolex Datejust with a diamond-set dial to accept the trophy.)

With interest in women's sports continuing to climb, there will be more eyes on her than ever. "The 2024 season saw onsite attendance at Hologic WTA Tour events increase by 15%, followers to WTA social channels jump by 25%, and the cumulative global audience grow by 10% to a record 1.1 billion on television and streaming platforms," the tour stated in a press release. Eager to learn more about tennis's next big star? Scroll down to read my exclusive interview with Mirra Andreeva.

Congratulations on Indian Wells! What does this trophy mean to you?

Thank you! Of course, it means a lot to me to win such a prestigious tournament. It’s super special. I feel more confident after winning the tournament.

How are you dealing with the newfound media attention? Does it affect your game?

⁠I think any player who won the tournament would’ve received this amount of attention from the media, so I think that it’s normal and it doesn’t affect my game at all. I’m able to turn off my mind on court and only think about tennis.

Who is your tennis idol and why?