Mirra Andreeva is carrying no pretensions of fame as the teenaged defending champion returns to defend her title at the WTA Dubai event.

The world No. 7 scored a prestige win here a year ago at the Aviation club as she lifted the trophy with a defeat of Clara Tauson.

After rising in the standings thanks to backing up her Gulf title with a Masters title  a few weeks later at Indian Wells, the 18-year-old continued to make progress by claiming last month’s Adelaide honours.

But Andreeva, coached by former Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez, prefers to keep life as simple as possible.

The youngster feels uncomfortable when she is compared to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, a Dubai absentee after a late withdrawal.

“I always travel with my family. For me it’s not as difficult as I would have imagined, maybe for some players like Aryna.

“She’s maybe three times more famous, maybe even
four times more famous. I think for her it’s maybe a little bit more difficult.”

Andreeva comes into her title defence after a third-round loss last week in nearby Doha, going down to Canadian Victoria Mboko whom she beat in the Adelaide final a month ago.

Mboko, who reached the weekend Doha final against Dubai seed Elena Rybakina, subsequently withdrew from Dubai with injury.

“I’m actually very excited to come back here again and play in front of the people here,” Andreeva said. “Obviously I have great memories from
last year, so I just can’t wait for the tournament to start.

“I cannot say for sure if I’m going to be able to defend the title or not, because

obviously it’s a new year, new tournament. 

“I’m going to do everything I can to try and defend the title because this is the first time I come to the tournament as a defending champion. It’s something
new for me.

“I can’t wait to play my first match here and we will see how it goes.”

Main photo:-Mirra Andreeva in action at last month’s Australian Open – by ISF Ltd

Australian Open holder Madison Keys and US compatriot Jessica Pegula beat the heat on a sweltering Saturday, earning morning victories into the fourth round before the mercury soared to 40 Celsius.

In the evening, two-time winner Naomi Osaka withdrew prior to her match against Maddie Inglis, sending the last Australian woman remaining into the fourth round.

Osaka later said she experienced abdominal injury linked to her pregnancy of several years ago.

.“I thought I could push through it. I played my last match with some pain, and I thought maybe if I gave myself a break before my match today, I would be able to handle it, but I warmed up, and it got a lot worse,” he said, adding she still needed to see doctors.

“I definitely have to do more tests and coming back from pregnancy, my body changed quite a lot. So this is something I have to be really cautious of.

Keys took full advantage of play which began an hour earlier than normal as officials raced to beat some of the summer weather and keep the Grand Slam on schedule.

“I’m from Florida, so I was ready for the heat,” Keys said after dispatching Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-3 in 76 minutes.

“I was excited for the heat, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m happy to have played some clean matches – I’m ready for the second week.”

Pegula, who appears on a behind-the-scenes podcast with her friend Keys, eased no time in her 6-3, 6-2 win over Oksana Selehkmeteva to reach the fourth round.

Pliskova, a former Melbourne semi-finalist, who had two months at world No. 1 in 2017, has been through injury hell in recent seasons, with her ranking standing outside the top 1000.

Keys turned in a solid match to advance as her title defence strengthens after 25 winners including six aces.

“My serve got me out of a few tricky spots. I deserve a pat on the back for that,” she said. .

“It gives you confidence when you find your best tennis when you are pushed.  I need to trust my game.and have belief in myself.”

The sixth-seeded Pegula emerged satisfied with her win.

“I’m really happy to be back in the fourth round. I played some really good matches, been very efficient I think score-wise, time on court.

“Today was really tricky. I didn’t know that much about her. We had a couple tough games there, but I was able to kind of grab the momentum when I could.

“I served very well and was able to execute my game plan.”

Keys and Pegula will now meet in the fourth round, with Keys winning their last encounter a year ago in the Adelaide final.

Fourth seed Amanda Anisimova completed a winning US trio with her 6-1, 6-4 thrashing of countrywoman Payton Stearns.

The winner said she began preparations for the heatwave conditions on Friday.

“Just staying hydrated the day before, and the day of is really important (with ice baths).

“We always try to prepare as best as we can. I felt like I was really rushed today

trying to just fit everything (hydration-wise) in on each changeover.

“It’s just important to keep fuelling and also staying calm, to not spend my energy on emotions or negativity or things that just didn’t matter,

like closing the match or stressing out about not finishing
the match.

“When it’s really hot, it brings you even more down and it takes a lot
of your energy. I was just really trying to stay focused, try and do
the things that I wanted to do, focus on my serve.”

Second seed Iga Swiatek turned in a momentum-shifting 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 win over Anna Kalinskaya for a fourth-round spot while losing her first set of the tournament.

Czech teenaged qualifying sensation Nikola Bartunkova, who beat Swiss Belinda Bencic in the second round, was knocked out 6-0, 6-4 by Belgian veteran Elise Mertens.

Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko will face off in a teenaged final at the Adelaide International after straight-set Friday wins.

The 18-year-old Andreeva defeated good friend and doubles partner Diana Shnaider 6-3, 6-2.  Canada’s Mboko, 19, needed 58 minutes to dispatch Aussie Kimberly Birrell 6-2, 6-1 a day after beating Australian Open champion Madison Keys.

Andreeva admitted to pre-match nerves and said she had to pretend she was playing someone other than her best tennis friend.

“It could have gone either way, I’m happy how I was brave and went for my shots.”

Mboko rose more than 300 ranking places last season to currently stand 17th.

The 2025 champion at the WTA 1000 event in Toronto also won in Hong Kong last autumn. She was pleased to advance over Birrell without difficulty into her third  career final.

“I really haven’t set goals for myself yet. But getting that fast up in the rankings, you have to adapt really fast. 

“I like to take things slow and see how every week goes. You never know when you’re gonna do well.” 

Main photo;- Mirra Andreeva – by Roger Parker ISF