16-year-old Russian tennis player Mirra Andreeva fined at Wimbledon

Mirra Andreeva has become an overnight tennis sensation, bursting onto the scene with an explosive run at Wimbledon 2023. At just 16, the Russian child prodigy was on fire in the London tournament, which unfortunately ended for her in the round of 16 – in an equally dramatic fashion.

As well as suffering the sting of a Wimbledon exit, the rising star will walk away with a fine of $8,000 (US) for throwing her racket against the ground twice after losing against American Madison Keys.

Two "bad decisions", as the chair umpire called them, took place. The first one was when she lost the second set and the other was when she was two points from losing the match.

A tough loss, that ended with Andreeva in tears and leaving Wimbledon with a fine full of zeros.

An unfortunate end for an otherwise great run – a breakout moment for a rising star that the tennis world will now be closely watching.

And being Russian has not made things easy for her in recent months. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had consequences on the respect and careers of Russian athletes. And this year, Wimbledon was reluctant to accept athletes from the country ruled by Putin.

Despite the clear disgruntlement of many British fans at Wimbledon, it's the Russian Federation has one player shining in a positive light on the Western world.

16-year-old Russian star Mirra Andreeva has taken Wimbledon by storm, becoming the second person under 17 since Maria Sharapova to reach the last 16 of Wimbledon.

Her dream looked alive, but after losing a tie-break in the second set in the last 16, American Madison Keys piled on the pressure, winning the game-deciding set 6-2, crushing Andreeva.

Despite the war-torn situation in Russia, Andreeva expressed that her incredible run was being cheered by friends and family in her home country.

According to skysports.com, Andreeva said: "They were watching my match, like 50 people that they invited. I received much more support and more kind messages from my family."

"I also feel the support from Krasnoyarsk. A lot of people are supporting me."

The Russian teenager kept her Wimbledon dream alive, beating world number 22 Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5, before heartache in the last 16.

Andreeva's sensational one-hour and 35-minute victory over her Russian compatriot meant her impressive achievement of reaching round three of the French Open has been bettered.

Her rise to stardom at Wimbledon has come as no surprise for tennis experts, with Andreeva taking the sport by storm since she turned professional in 2022.

The 16-year-old has won six ITF career titles, including two at the ITF Antalya in Turkey in April 2022. Her singles record 61 wins and 12 losses.

Picture – Instagram @_mirraandreeva_

Despite her surge in the Tennis world and the politics of being a Russian athlete, Andreeva insists she is just a normal teenager.

According to bbc.co.uk, Andreeva said: "I do everything that the girls my age do. I love to watch some series. I have to do my school. I have no choice."

"When I have free time, sometimes I prefer to be alone, it depends on my mood, but most of the time, I watch Netflix if I'm honest."

Her on-court play has been nothing short of mature and exceptional. However, her youthfulness has been shown with some teenage tantrums during a match.

Andreeva was warned multiple times in the match against Keys for her aggressive behavior, losing a point at the end for throwing her racket on multiple occasions.