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Mirra Andreeva has sparked concern among tennis fans after emotional scenes during her first-round defeat to Laura Siegemund at the Wuhan Open on Monday evening.
The talented 18-year-old is somewhat of a tour veteran after playing her first WTA-level event in 2022, but has hit her stride over the past two years to achieve a career-high ranking of No 5 in the world this July.
But despite impressive runs at Wimbledon and the French Open, and the securing of her first Masters title at Indian Wells in the spring, the latter phase of Andreeva's season has been pockmarked with defeats to significantly lower-ranked opponents.
Before her brief run in Wuhan, Andreeva had been knocked out of the China Open in Beijing by British No 2 Sonay Kartal, then ranked world No 81.
Her US Open run as number-five seed was similarly cut short by doubles specialist Taylor Townsend in the third round, who beat her in straight sets.
But neither defeat will cast a shadow as long as her fall to the German Siegemund, a tennis player known on the tour for her wily and frustrating game style.
🇷🇺🇩🇪🇨🇳 ANDREEVA ERUPTS IN FRUSTRATION WITH TENNIS AFTER WUHAN LOSS
Russian tennis player Mirra Andreeva, 18, shouted —"F*king sick of this f*king tennis"— in Russian after losing a point at the Wuhan tournament.
The emotional outburst happened during her second-round match… pic.twitter.com/x1YSMQnmSz
Mirra Andreeva cut a disconsolate figure as she crashed out of the Wuhan Open on Monday
The teenager had an on-court meltdown during her defeat to 37-year-old Laura Siegemund
Such was Andreeva's unravelling during the match that she was frequently left in tears during the three-set battle, which the world No 57 claimed 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3.
The Russian star felt the pressure take its toll from the first set, with Andreeva initially spotted visibly emotional and wiping her face after chipping a shot into the net on the run at 30-love down in the 11th game.
At this stage, Andreeva and the 37-year-old were level on five games apiece, and the younger player appeared similarly agitated during the tiebreak after double-faulting to bring both competitors to equal footing.
Cutting an insolated figure on court on the second set, Andreeva preferred to bear the burden of her struggles alone, with Sky Sports commentary noting that she had not sought the opinion of her coach, Conchita Martinez, in the stands as the tears continued to fall.
After climbing back into the set to level the score at 2-2, Andreeva then wound herself up into a fury as Siegemund pounced on her serve, screaming '(I'm) f***ing sick of this f***ing tennis' as her opponent reached break point.
Although she attempted to cling on to the game, she again remonstrated herself in Russian after conceding it, throwing her racquet to the court with a clatter as she made her way to her bench.
Andreeva fought to settle her emotions, taking deep breaths and attempting to wipe the tears from her face, but after missing a high volley to hand Siegemund advantage at 4-3 up, she openly broke into sobs in the mid-court.
After Siegemund took the second set, Andreeva again boiled over at the start of third, challenging the umpire over her rival's attempts to slow her actions during her own service game.
Broken again, Andreeva responded by striking a ball hard out into the crowd deliberately.
Andreeva claimed the first set but had been battling with her emotions from the very start
The 18-year-old was frequently moved to tears by her error-strewn game and heard audibly sobbing after playing a double fault
The Indian Wells champion also shared that she was 'f***ing sick' of the sport in her native language in one outburst
Andreeva's explosions have become a notorious presence on tour, with the player repeatedly punching herself in the leg during one in Montreal this summer
Andreeva was again vocal on court as she shouted how she 'couldn't believe it' after finding the net again 3-1 down.
Audibly sobbing again, the teenager was willed on by cheers from the crowd, but found it hard to stand the scrutiny on-court, at one point in the match telling the camera person not to film her during the changeover after she had lost her serve.
Andreeva is yet to speak publicly about the match, but has previously endured similar emotional battles on-court and in the aftermath of defeat.
At the end of last season, the player was so overcome with feeling after finishing runner-up to her compatriot Daria Kasatkina at the Ningbo Open, she sobbed uncontrollably throughout her post-match speech.
Andreeva was then comforted by Kasatkina in touching scenes and encouraged that she would be holding the winner's trophy soon enough.
The teen lost her cool at this year's French Open, playing home favourite and wildcard Lois Boisson in front of a hostile Parisian crowd, and there have been similar scenes at the Italian Open, Wimbledon, Berlin, and Bad Homburg this year.
In disturbing scenes, Andreeva repeated punched herself in the leg during her defeat to McCartney Kessler in Montreal this summer, before bursting into tears.
Andreeva is scheduled to compete in Ningbo next week, with last year's final points to defend should the world No 5 wish to make a final qualifying push for next month's WTA Finals.
But the teenager could yet opt to follow the decision made by Kasatkina among other players to end her season early in a bid to recharge in both body and mind ahead of 2026.
Kasatkina cited physical and mental fatigue as well as the stress of changing her national allegiance from Russia to Australia this season in factors in her decision to call time on her 2025 campaign.
