Mirra Andreeva matches Gauff & Sharapova milestone with stunning Brisbane run

Oli Dickson Jefford 03 Jan 2025 9:49 AM

Pictured: Mirra Andreeva, Coco Gauff, Maria Sharapova

Mirra Andreeva has matched the likes of Coco Gauff and Maria Sharapova.

Mirra Andreeva has matched a milestone previously achieved by the likes of Coco Gauff and Maria Sharapova after reaching the last four of the Brisbane International.

Seeded eighth in Brisbane, world No 16 Andreeva fended off Ons Jabeur 6-4, 7-6(2) to reach her first semi-final of 2025 in her opening tournament of the year.

The 17-year-old dropped just two games when she beat Jabeur at the Australian Open 12 months ago, defeating the former world No 2 in the second round on her way to reaching the second week in Melbourne.

But, with the Tunisian seemingly back at full fitness at the start of the season, this win was arguably more impressive for the Russian.

“For me, it was a tough match,” said the Russian. “Especially mentally. It’s always hard to play against someone you like. We all like Ons. There’s no doubt about that.

“It was hard mentally to keep pushing and playing aggressive. She’s very good at playing games, drop shots, slices. My plan was to keep playing aggressive and stay solid.”

Andreeva does not turn 18 until April, but this is already her fourth semi-final on the WTA Tour.

The 17-year-old made the last four of an event for the first time at the French Open in June 2024, where she famously stunned Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.

That was followed by a run in Iasi, where she lifted the first WTA title of her career before she progressed to the final of the Ningbo Open at the end of 2024.

Andreeva is in unique company by reaching her fourth tour-level semi-final before her 18th birthday, now being one of only six women in the past two decades to achieve that impressive feat.

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The most notable names on that list are Sharapova and Gauff, who both went on to become Grand Slam champions.

Tennis icon Sharapova was just 17 when she lifted the first of her five Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2004 and ultimately won a staggering nine WTA titles by the time she turned 18.

By the time she celebrated her 18th birthday in April 2005, the former world No 1 had reached 18 WTA semi-finals.

Gauff lifted her first WTA title at the Linz Open when she was just 15 in 2019, and the future world No 2 had won a second title in Emilia-Romagna by the time she had turned 18, making six semi-finals in total.

The only other women to have reached more semi-finals than Andreeva in the past 20 years were Nicole Vaidisova, Tatiana Golovin, and Michaella Krajicek, all of whom were celebrated prodigies.

Andreeva is currently projected to reach a new career-high of world No 15 in the WTA Rankings after the tournament.