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World No. 57 Mirra Andreeva faced an unexpected opponent - men’s tennis player Yanis Ghazouani Durand - in her final match at the 2023 Negometal Open de Bourg-de-Peage exhibition event in France.
Andreeva earned an emphatic victory over Russian-born French player Varvara Gracheva 6-1, 6-2 in her opening duel. She was then scheduled to square off against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final clash.
But Kostyuk, who was roped in after the withdrawal of last year’s champion Donna Vekic, decided against playing opposite Andreeva due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"Due to reasons beyond our will and given the geopolitical context in Ukraine, Marta Kostyuk will not be able to compete," the organizers said in a statement released moments before the match.
As a quick replacement, the organizers opted for France's Yanis Ghazouani Durand to compete against the rising women’s tennis sensation.
"We've done our best to activate our network of professional players, but the time is unfortunately too short to find a replacement. So we took the decision to compete our Peageois Yanis Ghazouani Durand against the young prodigy Mirra Andreeva," they wrote in the statement.
The 23-year-old Ghazouani Durand, ranked World No. 1145 on the ATP Tour and No. 74 on the ITF circuit, promptly took the court against Mirra Andreeva. The latter started off on a positive note, breaking Ghazouani Durand in his opening game. The French local, however, broke right back and rushed to a 3-2 lead.
The duo fought tooth and nail in the opener, but Ghazouani Durand ultimately snatched the set 7-5.
Andreeva was unable to keep pace with her opponent in the second set and managed to win just two games. The Frenchman emerged as the winner with the score reading 7-5, 6-2.
Despite her loss, the Russian was awarded the winner’s trophy.
“It’s actually the first time I am holding the trophy after a loss. I hope it’s the last time like this,” she joked during the trophy ceremony.
Mirra Andreeva won the WTA Newcomer of the Year award in 2023
Mirra Andreeva, who turned pro in 2022, made great strides during the 2023 season. The Russian commenced her campaign by competing in the Australian Open girls’ category, but lost the final to compatriot and doubles partner Alina Korneeva. Just months later, she won two ITF titles in Switzerland.
Andreeva made her Grand Slam main draw debut on the pro tour at the French Open. Coming through the qualifiers, she reached the third round of the event before losing to 2022 runner-up Coco Gauff.
At the Wimbledon Championships, the 16-year-old did one better by making the fourth round as a qualifier. She was eventually seen off by 2017 US Open runner-up Madison Keys.
Andreeva broke into the world’s top 100 for the first time during the summer, and earned a direct main-draw entry at the US Open. Her campaign was, however, halted by eventual champion Gauff in the second round.
Thanks to her impressive results, Mirra Andreeva, who was ranked outside the top 300 at the start of the year, reached a career-high ranking of World No. 46. Her achievements were recognized by the WTA, and she was honored with the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ award.
