A 16-year-old tennis prodigy earned $167K and the biggest win of her career, then complained about schoolwork
- Tennis wunderkind Mirra Andreeva beat world No. 6 Ons Jabeur early in the 2024 Australian Open.
- The 16-year-old earned $167K along with the biggest victory of her young career.
Tennis' next great prodigy has arrived.
Teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva thoroughly defeated world No. 6 Ons Jabeur Tuesday in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open women's singles tournament, notching the biggest victory of her young career in convincing fashion. The 16-year-old took down her three-time Grand Slam finalist foe — whom she later described as one of her idols — in a 6-0, 6-2 rout at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena that lasted just 54 minutes total.
With the win — her first over a top-10 opponent — Andreeva added $167,000 to her tournament earnings, which now total more than $350,000, according to tournament organizers. But even as she racks up impressive results and big payouts, the budding Russian star has some priorities that betray her youth.
Yes, that includes homework.
During her historic run at last summer's French Open — her Grand Slam debut — Andreeva described herself as "a usual teenager" with limited hobbies beyond watching TV. She also mentioned that schoolwork occupies a good chunk of her time — or at least it's supposed to.
"I also have to do my school, but let's be honest, I don't do it sometimes," the then-15-year-old said, adding that chemistry, in particular, "is so bad."
Beyond jumping nearly 100 spots in the WTA rankings — from No. 143 to No. 47 — not much has changed for Andreeva in the seven months between Roland-Garros 2023 and this year's Australian Open. She confirmed as much in her press conference following the big win over Jabeur.
"I still don't like chemistry," Andreeva said with a smirk. "I still have to do a lot of school."
"It actually started two days ago, so I have to do it," she added.
Next up for the wunderkind is Thursday's third-round matchup against France's Diane Parry. Should she emerge victorious to advance to the Round of 16, Andreeva will match the career-best Grand Slam result she earned at Wimbledon last year and earn an additional quarter-million dollars in prize money.