Petrova: ‘I want us to have a star like Sharapova. Andreeva is suitable both in terms of play and appearance’

Athletistic/Tennis. Nadezhda Petrova, former world No. 3 and two-time French Open semi-finalist in singles, shared her opinion on the comparison between 16-year-old Russian tennis player Mirra Andreeva and Maria Sharapova. She thinks such parallels won’t put undue pressure on Mirra, who had a successful first senior season, reaching the third round at Roland Garros and the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Petrova expressed hope for the emergence of a new tennis star and believes that Mirra fully meets these expectations, both in terms of playing qualities and appearance. She does not believe that comparisons with Maria Sharapova will have a negative impact on Mirra. According to Petrova, it can be seen from Mirra’s results that she has a great sense of purpose.

Petrova suggests that Mirra’s successes can become an incentive for a generational change: girls her age will look up to her, see that it’s real, and start believing in their own strengths.

• Petrova called the reasons for the success of 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva