BEIJING, October 9. /TASS/. Russia’s Erika Andreeva cleared Round 2 of the 2024 WTA (Women Tennis Association) Wuhan Open tennis tournament in China with straight sets win over her compatriot and younger sister Mirra Andreeva.
The tournament's unseeded Erika Andreeva cruised past her sister Mirra Andreeva (16th-seed) with straight sets win of 6-3; 6-1.
This was the first-time duel between Russian sisters Andreeva, who play under a neutral status at international tennis tournaments. Erika Andreeva is now set to face off in the next Jasmine Paolini from Italy. The Italian 3rd-seed defeated earlier in the day China’s Yue Yuan 6-4; 6-3.
"It was tough for both of us," the official WTA website quoted Erika Andreeva as saying after the match. "First experience, and both of us were happy it happened at a big tournament. But I'm not sure we enjoyed it."
According to the WTA reports earlier this week, Mirra Andreeva had described the prospective matchup against her elder sister Erika as a "nightmare."
"It's true, because we played each other in childhood a lot," Erika Andreeva said. "I know where she will most possibly go, and she as well. Sometimes during the rally I was like, 'Normally I go there, but I know that she knows that I go there,' and I changed my decision. I'm not sure that was the best choice sometimes."
Erika Andreeva, 20, is ranked 70th in the Women Tennis Association (WTA) Rankings. She has never won a title on the WTA tour, and on the Grand Slam circuit, her best finish was earlier this year, when she reached Round 2 of Wimbledon.
Mirra Andreeva, 17, is currently ranked 19th in the Women Tennis Association and already holds one WTA title under her belt. Earlier this year she reached the semifinals of the 2024 French Open. Last year, in Grand Slams she reached the 3rd round of the French Open, made it all the way to the 4th round at Wimbledon and then battled her way into Round 2 of the US Open. In 2023, the WTA named Andreeva the rookie of the year.
Mirra Andreeva also won a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris in women's doubles (playing in pairs with Russia's Diana Shnaider).
The 2024 Wuhan Open tennis tournament has the WTA 1000 category and it is played on outdoor hard courts at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center in Wuhan between October 7 and 13.
The tournament is being held for the first time since 2019 in Wuhan and it offers $3.2 million in prize money. Arina Soboloneko of Belarus is the tournament's reigning champion.
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
However, the Women Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.