Mirra Andreeva has booked her place in the Australian Open fourth round, collecting another straight-sets win to continue her strong start to the season.
The eighth seed came through a 6-3, 6-4 result against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, building on the momentum from her title run at the Adelaide International earlier this month.
Andreeva’s form has carried over to Melbourne, where she’s now dropped just one set – that coming in her opening match against Donna Vekic. Since then, she’s found a consistent level and looks comfortable on court.
Her latest victory also saw her hit an impressive milestone.
Mirra Andreeva’s repeat performance at the Australian Open draws parallels with Venus Williams’ early career
Andreeva first appeared at Melbourne Park in 2024, where she upset sixth seed Ons Jabeur on her way to the fourth round, before losing to Barbora Krejcikova.
She then made it back-to-back appearances in the last 16 in 2025, falling this time to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Now in 2026, Andreeva has equalled her previous best finishes by reaching the fourth round once again. According to Opta Ace, she is the first woman since Venus Williams – who did it between 1998 and 2001 – to reach that stage in each of her first three appearances at the tournament.
Venus reached the quarterfinals in both of her first two trips and made it as far as the semifinals in her third appearance.
Now fans will be looking to see whether Andreeva can take a similar step forward this time around.
Who Mirra Andreeva faces next at the Australian Open
Standing between her and the quarterfinals is 12th seed Elina Svitolina, who should provide her toughest test so far in this tournament.
This will be only their second meeting on tour. The first came at Indian Wells in 2025, where Andreeva came out on top, winning 7-5, 6-3 to reach the semifinals.
Andreeva is aiming for her second-best Grand Slam performance overall, which would also be the highest finish of her career at the Australian Open.
Her deepest run at a major was a semifinal appearance at Roland Garros in 2024, where she lost to Jasmine Paolini.
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