MOSCOW, May 3, Oleg Bogatov. Turning 16 Russian woman Mirra Andreeva is in the optimal mode, the tennis player can grow into a world star, but we have to wait a couple more years with the conclusions, since development at this age can proceed in different ways, said the president of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) Shamil Tarpishchev.
Andreeva won two ITF tournaments in Switzerland in April, entering the WTA top 200 for the first time (currently ranked 194). The Russian has become the youngest winner of three ITF W60 titles. Then, at a tournament in Madrid, Andreeva consecutively defeated Canadian Leila Fernandez (49th racket of the world), Brazilian Beatriz Haddad-Maya (14) and Polish Magda Lynette (19), becoming the youngest tennis player ever to reach the 1/8 finals of tournaments WTA 1000.
“So far, everything is going well for Mirra Andreeva: both in terms of results, and in terms of the quality of work, and in terms of technical and tactical equipment. If everything continues like this, then, of course, she will be a star. But we still have to wait a couple of years, because the formation it's different for everyone.To date, she is doing well, but this is not a guarantee that she will be an outstanding star, because many things depend on genetic characteristics.You can not give big advances at this age, because the formation occurs later «, — said Tarpishchev.
“What is it expressed in? In functional and physiological characteristics, because everyone grows differently,” the specialist noted. “At this age, an athlete can grow by 12-15 centimeters within six months, and everything changes immediately. And with such rapid growth you can’t lose speed — if you lose speed, then you have lost everything. A tennis player cannot be both slow and unendurable at the same time. If you lose some quality, then you will not catch up.»
Tarpishchev gave a typical example of one of the world leaders Rafael Nadal.
“When Rafael won the Spanish junior championship, his uncle Tony called the Spanish Tennis Federation and asked: “And who became an outstanding athlete among those who won at this age?” And the answer was very interesting. It turned out that in the entire history of Spain from of those who won the national junior championship at an early age, only two became great tennis players — (ex-second racket of the world Alex) Corretja and Nadal. And the rest disappeared. And in Spain, the array of strong young tennis players is crazy. So the question of growing and shaping those things that we are discussing is important,» the head of the FTR said.