For all that Mirra Andreeva has gained during a remarkable 2026 season, there are things she has had to give up along the way. Par for the course, and a fact that is often overlooked by those who watch globetrotting tennis stars from the comfort of their own home.
The teenager revealed on Sunday that she has spent just one week in her hometown over the last year, a somewhat stunning glimpse into the sacrifices required to make a life on the WTA Tour.
2026 has been the greatest season of Andreeva’s young career, highlighted by her triumph at Roland Garros, where she became the youngest women’s singles champion since Monica Seles in 1992. As of Sunday in Beijing, Andreeva has played in 19 events across four continents, and played 64 matches overall.
Success – and volume – of that magnitude comes at a cost, particularly for a teenager whose family is tantalizingly close as another long season winds toward its conclusion.
“Honestly for me, it’s a little bit harder to play at the end of the season because my hometown is just three hours away, straight flight,” Andreeva said today after reaching the round of 16 at the China Open with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Polina Kudermetova. “My family’s there. They’re calling me, making jokes, ‘You’re not far away.’
“It’s kind of making it a little bit harder because I know that I’m far but at the same time I’m not far away from home.”
Asked when she had last been home, Andreeva’s answer put the relentless nature of her schedule into perspective.
“I’ve been at home one year ago for one week to see my grandparents and then I left,” she said.
A chessmaster in the making?
So what do with all that time on the road? For Andreeva, chess has been one of the answers.
Andreeva learned the game as a kid but eventually abandoned it as tennis, training and school consumed more of her time. During Roland Garros this year, she noticed her fitness coach playing online chess before her matches and decided to start learning again.
“To this day I play every day in Duolingo,” the 19-year-old said.
Andreeva uses the app to study tactics and moves and said she has another chess app where she tests herself online against complete strangers. Somewhere out unsuspecting players are sitting down for a game of chess against the reigning Roland Garros champion.
“My nickname is very different,” she said. “You would never guess what it is. If I tell you, I’m going to be embarrassed if you know it – It’s going to stay a secret.”
There is symmetry in Andreeva’s fascination with chess.
She reads opponents exceptionally well, anticipates what is coming and rarely relies upon sheer power to solve every problem. Instead, Andreeva constructs points: changing direction, manipulating court position and disguising her intentions until the opening she wants appears.
At 19, Andreeva has already risen to the summit of women’s tennis by thinking several moves ahead of her opposition.
The heady talent culls everything together so neatly when she’s in the zone, like a chessmaster on the 78’ x 27’ canvas. In her case, angled forehands are knights or bishops, drop shots are pawns and the chiseled backhand is a rook. Then there’s the queen, able to sting with one firm strike.
She may not be home very often, but Andreeva has the next best thing: the tools to make herself at home wherever she plays.
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