Olympic silver medalist in women’s doubles (Paris 2024) and world No. 7, 19-year-old Russian tennis player Mirra Andreeva reflected on the challenging weather conditions following her quarterfinal qualification at the WTA-1000 clay-court event in Rome.
On Monday, Andreeva (seeded 8th) defeated Belgium’s Elise Mertens (world No. 22) in the Round of 16 with a score of 6:3, 6:3.
When asked about the stark contrast between today’s conditions and her doubles match with Diana Shnaider the day before, Andreeva noted: “Yes, the weather today was completely different from yesterday. It was very windy, and even those planes were flying — I was told they were practicing something. So the conditions were tough, but I’m glad I managed to stay focused on my game and not let it distract me.”
Regarding the court change — from the distant BNP Paribas court to the third-largest arena, the Super Tennis Arena — Andreeva added: “Honestly, I think the courts here are all quite similar. The lines are a bit uneven, but the conditions are the same for everyone, so I didn’t notice much difference. It just looks a little smaller visually.”