Mirra Andreeva's big choice: Chasing Grand Slam glory or the No. 1 of the rankings?

Mirra Andreeva has chosen what she prefers between winning a Grand Slam title and reaching the world No. 1 ranking, while maintaining a strong campaign at Roland Garros. The teenage Russian continues to show great consistency on the Tour, having defeated Ashlyn Krueger in straight sets to advance to the third round, where she will face Yulia Putintseva.

The world No. 6 remains one of the favorites for the title and has not disappointed in her performances so far, still without dropping a set in the tournament. The 2024 semifinalist did not hesitate between the top ranking and a Grand Slam title when asked in a press conference. "I would choose to win a Slam first rather than being world No. 1," she stated.

On another note, one of the topics that has been discussed during this French Open is the preference given to male players occupying the night sessions at Philippe Chatrier every day so far. A day earlier, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was moved to Suzanne Lenglen Stadium – the second most important court at Roland Garros – while world No. 10 Holger Rune occupied the main stadium.

"I cannot really say anything because I feel like I need to have a little bit more experience to really just comment on these things. I don’t know. Maybe.. it would be great of course to put her on Philippe-Chatrier. But I think that maybe they had a reason to put Rune on Philippe-Chatrier and her on Suzanne Lenglen."

"For me, if I would be in that situation, I would be happy to play on Suzanne Lenglen because I also find this court very nice and beautiful. But I think if I want to comment on that, I just need to maybe play a bit longer in the tour so I get a little bit more experience and I can really comment on these things."

Andreeva was asked if she prefers to play in night or day sessions. "It doesn’t really matter when I play," she said. "I know now probably I’m not gonna play night session soon because I still have doubles. Today, after this I have my doubles match. For me, doesn’t really matter if they put me night session, I’m happy. If they put me first match, it’s been working well so far. Whatever they decide, I’m good with it."