Mirra Andreeva pays tribute to ailing sister Erika

Mirra Andreeva finally got her first win over big sister Erika on Wednesday in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix first round — but not in the way she’d hoped for, advancing when Erika was forced to retire trailing 6-2, 1-0 due to a right knee injury.

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Erika had won their only professional meeting to date 6-3, 6-1 in the Wuhan second round last year, and according to the sisters had won every practise set they had ever played in their childhood. Competing as a lucky loser in Stuttgart, she broke Mirra in the first game, but dropped the next two and took a medical time-out at the first change of ends. Erika resumed play with her right knee heavily strapped, and thereafter the match was one-way traffic for Mirra.

After sharing an embrace at the end of the match, the No. 5 seed paid tribute to her sister, crediting Erika for her own rapid rise to the Top 10.

“If she wouldn’t start playing tennis before me I don’t think I would play that well this fast,” said Mirra in her on-court interview. “She started playing some tournaments when I didn’t have to, and she showed me the way. Because of her, it was easier for me to start playing bigger tournaments right away. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I would be playing this tournament this year.”

Erika’s physical issues did not come as a surprise to Mirra — “We share the same room, so of course I knew what she’s been going through” — but she still had mixed feelings in the aftermath.

“Honestly have weird emotions,” she said. “I should be a little bit happy that I won the match, but still I’m super sad it ended like that. I’m sure she’s gonna take her time and recover, and she’s gonna come back as strong as she can.”

Still, the 17-year-old still found time for some levity. A glint showing in her eye, she turned towards coach Conchita Martínez. With the words “It’s my coach’s birthday, and I want to embarrass her a little bit,” Mirra led the Stuttgart crowd in a rendition of “Happy Birthday”, addressing Martínez by her full first name, Concepción, with a grin.

Martínez took it in stride, blowing kisses to all. It may have been a bittersweet day for the Andreeva family, but Mirra’s star is continuing to rise. Next up will be a first-time encounter with Ekaterina Alexandrova as she bids to reach her fourth quarterfinal of 2025.