Mirra Andreeva gets response after calling tennis rival a ‘b****’ on social media

Daria Kasatkina has responded to Mirra Andreeva jokingly labelling her a ‘b****’ following their Ningbo Open showdown. The 27-year-old bagelled her rival and went on to win in three sets to win the Chinese tournament.

Kasatkina and Andreeva are close despite their 10-year age gap. The latter congratulated her fellow Russian after her Ningbo Open triumph, but also called her a b****.

“Congrats to this b**** @kasatkina , you definitely showed some great tennis,” Andreeva wrote on Instagram, adding an eyeroll emoji and a crying face.

The comment was clearly meant as a joke and Kasatkina clearly did not take offence. She has now responded, insisting Andreeva is ‘incredible’ and shows maturity beyond her years.

Kasatkina told the WTA: “Mirra is an incredible girl, honestly. It’s incredible how in one person there is a mix of a kid and maturity at the same time.”

She added that Andreeva is ‘hilarious’ and that her sense of humour includes using amusing words.

“Her sense of humour and what she says in her native language is just hilarious. Some of the words she uses are so funny,” the Eastbourne International champion added.

“She’s a very good person, and already a very good player who will get much better. For the last year I’ve been calling her ‘a piece of gold.’ But I don’t want to say too many good things because everyone is saying this, and she is so young.

“I wish her to just keep improving every single day because I know how it feels to hear only good things every day, and then you have sky-high expectations, which are hard to manage. I hope she can go on mute and just play, and that’s enough. If she just plays, that will be enough.”

Kasatkina defeated Andreeva 6-0 4-6 6-4 to win eighth career WTA title. She also won in Eastbourne earlier this year and has enjoyed an excellent season.

Having climbed the WTA rankings to No. 9 in the world, Kasatkina is now hoping to go far at the Japan Open. A victory over McCartney Kessler in the first round has landed her a quarter-final against Sofia Kenin.

Meanwhile, Andreeva continues to shine as one of the best young female players on the tour. She achieved a career-high No. 17 ranking after her run to the Ningbo Open final.