Mirra Andreeva gets real about Russia’s political ostracism affecting her after French Open triumph

Mirra Andreeva shared a candid take about playing as a neutral athlete following her women’s singles title triumph at the 2026 French Open. Andreeva, like all other Russian and Belarusian tennis players, has featured at tournaments as a neutral athlete after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and subsequent war led to Russian and Belarusian athletes being prohibited from representing their respective nations.

Not long after Andreeva’s emphatic 6-3, 6-2 win over Maja Chwalinska in the women’s singles final of this year’s Roland Garros, the 19-year-old WTA sensation attended a press conference. Here, she was asked about her thoughts and feelings on not being able to participate in events representing her native country of Russia. The youngster, initially speaking up against war, said:

“I think every person doesn’t want to have a war in in the world.”

However, she went on to explain that when she is in action, she doesn’t spare a thought for such matters and focuses solely on competing.

“So what I can say is that when I play tennis, the only thing that I think about is how to play and how to win and how to compete well and I don’t know, just win matches and I don’t really think about that when I play because I have so many things in my mind that I try to focus on. So I never think about those things when I play,” Mirra Andreeva added.

Mirra Andreeva & other Russian players faced flak at French Open 2026 from Marta Kostyuk, the World No. 15 from Ukraine

Marta Kostyuk, the 23-year-old Ukrainian who is among Mirra Andreeva’s WTA rivals, took a swipe at Russian players during the 2026 French Open. Dismissing suggestions that the Russians had to stay silent on the ongoing war with Ukraine because of potential repercussions, Kostyuk said at a press conference after her quarterfinal win over compatriot Elina Svitolina:

“They are all grown-ups. They know what they’re talking about. They know what’s going on. They have phones. They have Instagram. They have news. I wish there was some more ⁠clear stance on what’s going on, especially when your country is killing other people.”

Kostyuk went on to face Mirra Andreeva in the semis. Here, it was the latter who came out on top with a dominant 6-1, 6-3 win. There was no handshake between the players after the match due to Kostyuk’s adoption of a no-handshake policy with Russian and Belarusian players, which is shared by her compatriots on the tour including Svitolina.

Edited by Sudipto Pati