Mirra Andreeva grabbed a last-minute spot in the Olympics Race to Paris after her Roland Garros heroics in the past two weeks.
The Olympics tennis tournament is set to begin on July 27th. Sixty-four women will participate in the singles event, looking to stamp their names in the history books. Players will contest for bronze, silver, and gold medals.
Andreeva, who was born in Russia, is the fourth-highest-ranked player from her country in the race, leapfrogging Anna Kalinskaya. A single nation can only be represented by its four-best-ranked players in the Top 56, as that is the cut-off for those seeking direct entry through ranking.
But there is a caveat. Because Russian and Belarusian players will play as neutral athletes in the tournament, the question that has cropped up is how the International Tennis Federation (ITF) will simplify the eligibility requirements to accommodate the players from those two countries in the draw.
Apart from ranking, qualifying players must meet some stipulations, including nomination in at least two Billie Jean King Cup events during the Olympic window, in this case from Tokyo 2020 to Paris 2024.
However, the ITF suspended Russia and Belarus from team competitions following Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory in early 2022. So, this will be an interesting development to follow in the next few weeks as the buildup to the Olympics is nearing.
At 17, Andreeva will be the youngest player in the tournament now that her spot in the Top 56 is secured. Her appearance will now depend on how the ITF works around the requirements that players need to satisfy.
The young Russian celebrates a Top 30 breakthrough this week after reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros. She earned a career-best win at the tournament when she beat World No. 3 and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal.