Iga Swiatek Shocked by Teenager Mirra Andreeva in Dubai Quarter-Final

World number two Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Dubai Tennis Championships after a surprising 6-3, 6-3 defeat to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals.

Andreeva, who is the youngest player ever to reach the last four of the tournament, came from behind in the second set. After being 3-1 down, the Russian teenager won five consecutive games to beat Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, in one hour and 36 minutes.

Andreeva will now face either Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina or the United States’ Sofia Kenin in the semi-finals later on Thursday.

“I was really nervous before the match,” Andreeva admitted. “We played in Cincinnati last year, which Swiatek won, and it was pretty intense. I just told myself to play well, stay aggressive, and go for my shots. It wasn’t easy with all the fans supporting Swiatek, but I felt we were even – I had a lot of support too.”

This victory means Andreeva has now beaten both of the top two ranked players in the world in the past 12 months, having previously defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s French Open quarter-finals.

The Russian teenager is now the youngest player since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007 to have won five matches against top 10 ranked players.