‘I play against Sabalenka and Swiatek – the difference between them is clear’ | Tennis | Sport
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are the two best players in women’s tennis (Image: Getty)
Mirra Andreeva has faced both Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek multiple times – and believes there is a clear difference between the two. All three have been in action at the Australian Open where Andreeva is looking to progress past the fourth round for the first time. The Russian teenager fell at that hurdle in both 2024 and 2025 while Sabalenka reached the final on both occasions, while Swiatek reached the semi-finals last year having been stunned in the third round a year earlier.
Should Andreeva and Sabalenka win all of their matches, the first and eighth seeds stand to meet in the semi-finals. While world No.2 Swiatek is on the other side of the draw, so could await the winner of that final-four clash in the final in Melbourne. And ahead of potentially facing the pair in Australia, the 18-year-old Andreeva says Sabalenka and Swiatek are very different personalities – insisting the contrast is good for women’s tennis.
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“I think it’s great because she’s very active on social media,” the world No.7 said of two-time Australian Open winner Sabalenka. “She shows a lot of the things that are going on on Tour. I would be honest, I do kind of like to watch her stories.
“It’s pretty interesting. She does a good job of keeping kind of the mood in the social media of, like, being funny and doing a lot of activities with the fans, just keeping the fans in touch when she’s not playing tournaments.
“Yeah, I think it’s great. Also, I think that all of the people are different. For example, when Iga was the No. 1 in the world, we all know she’s more like a quiet person. She does everything well on the court. I feel like she’s maybe more closed.”
Should she run into Sabalenka in the semis, Andreeva actually won the last meeting between the pair in the Indian Wells final last year. Coming from a set down, the Russian clinched her second career victory over the Belarusian and has a 2-4 head-to-head record against the world No.1 overall.
The 18-year-old actually has a winning 2-1 record over Swiatek having beaten the Pole in the semi-finals at Indian Wells. She also got the better of the six-time Grand Slam winner in straight sets in Dubai a year ago.
Mirra Andreeva has enjoyed multiple wins against both Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek (Image: Getty)
Andreeva’s Australian Open was ended by Sabalenka in 2025. Reflecting on that fourth-round defeat, the Adelaide International champion says the 6-1, 6-2 thrashing helped her raise her own game. “Last year when I lost to Aryna, I felt like she just killed me. Like I didn’t really do much on the court,” Andreeva said.
“I felt like I was being overplayed. She was overhitting me. She was kind of all over the court. I was struggling to find chances to start winning, or to start winning more points here and there.
“So after that I felt like, first, I’ve improved physically. I became stronger. I started moving better on the court as well. Also mentally, which is super important. Now I’m trying not to focus on who I play against, either if it’s Aryna or Vicky [Mboko] or Diana [Shnaider], whoever.
“I’m trying to just focus on the ball that’s coming from the other side. I feel like that’s helping me mentally to stay calm and focused on what I have to do on the court.”
