Andreeva revealed she has wanted to face the 2021 BNP Paribas Open champion and the teenager will get that chance at the 2024 Internazionli BNL d’Italia.
ROME, Italy—Mirra Andreeva celebrated her 17th birthday during the Mutua Madrid Open and got a belated (and perhaps unexpected) present this week at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia when she learned she would make her Foro Italico debut against Paula Badosa.
“I’ve actually wanted to play Badosa, and I will play her tomorrow!” she said on Monday. “She’s an amazing player and I saw a lot of her matches, like when she won Indian Wells in 2021, and I watched some matches of hers recently.”
Andreeva has already faced her share of quality opposition through what has been a wildly successful first 18 months on the Hologic WTA tour, amassing an impressive 8-7 record against Top 20 players that includes two Top 10 victories in 2024.
In Madrid, she scored her second against reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova en route to the quarterfinals, bettering her breakout 2023 result when she reached the fourth round as a wild card.
“I feel like when you face a good player, you become better and you’re always challenging yourself until the last moment,” she mused, sitting mere meters from Campo Centrale. “You’re playing 100% and you want to win. Before a match against a seeded player or someone who has won titles on the WTA circuit, I feel like, ‘That will be a challenge for me,’ and it helps me to improve. It challenges me to be a better person and I feel even better and happier after winning these matches, so I’ll be excited for tomorrow because it’ll help me improve my game and myself.”
