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Vladimir Putin had a tryst with tennis for the first time this week, as he awarded Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider with the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class, for their success over the last rew years. While Andreeva has won two WTA 1000 titles and reached the top 5 rankings in 2025, Shnaider's exploits in both singles and doubles have also been impressive.
The 18-year-old Andreeva has accumulated a 38-13 win/loss record this year, securing triumphs in Dubai and Indian Wells while also beating some of the best players on the WTA Tour. Her compatriot Shnaider, meanwhile, triumphed in women's doubles at the 2025 Miami Open, teaming up with the Russian teen phenom herself. The Paris Olympics bronze medalist, who also guided North Carolina State University to the 2023 Women's Tennis ACC Championship, subsequently reached her career high singles ranking of 11 in May and her career high doubles ranking of 8 the following month.
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For their efforts, Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider have both been felicitated with the Medal for the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class, which is dedicated to athletes who have contributed to "the development of physical culture and sports" in Russia, if local news agency TASS' reports are to be believed. This achievement comes in light of Russian tennis pros not being allowed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to use their national flag beside their name.
In 2022, ITF—the official global tennis governing body—banned Russia and Belarus from organizing individual and team competitions following their invasion of Ukraine. The decision has held its ground to date, but that didn't deter Vladimir Putin from giving his country's tennis players their due.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of former and active tennis players that have received the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class and 2nd class: Maria Sharapova, Daniil Medvedev, Marat Safin, Dinara Safin, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Anna Kournikova, Vera Zvonareva, Mirra Andreeva, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Nadia Petrova, Karen Khachanov, Diana Shnaider, Maria Kirilenko, Ekaterina Makarova, and Aslan Karatsev.
Mirra Andreeva looking to break her "quarterfinalist" hump at China Open 2025
Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, has picked up a rather odd struggle recently - the World No. 5 hasn't won her last five quarterfinal outings dating back to the Madrid Open in April. Coincidentally, the last time she beat an opponent in the last-eight stage of a tournament came at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Elina Svitolina to win her biggest career title.
Since then, though, Andreeva has lost to Coco Gauff (x2), Lois Boisson, Linda Noskova, and Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, the French Open, the Bad Homburg Open, and Wimbledon, respectively. The 18-year-old will be eager to get back to making deeper runs at big tournaments at the China Open, which begins next week.
