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Mirra Andreeva, a 16-year-old Russian who reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon as a qualifier, saw her Cinderella run come to an end in the Round of 16 after some controversy in the deciding set.
Andreeva was facing American Madison Keys and was trailing 5-2 in the third set. The game was tied at deuce, but that’s when the controversy set in. Andreeva lost her footing and threw her racket which caused chair umpire Julie Kjendlie to issue a point penalty.
As a result, Keys received match point and went on to close out the win and bounce Andreeva from the tournament.
Andreeva had previously been issued a warning for throwing her racket, but in this instance, she was telling the judge that the racket slipped out of her hand as she tried to stop herself from falling. But Kjendlie wasn’t having any of it.
Mirra Andreeva got a point penalty that gave match point to Keys
She plead with the umpire that she fell & slipped.
Looking at this, she clearly lost her footing.
She released the racquet, but I think the umpire could’ve let this one slide
Sad ending.
pic.twitter.com/CZv5M0nlXW— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 10, 2023
After the match, Andreeva shook Keys’ hand and then walked right off of the court without shaking the umpire’s hand which is considered good sportsmanship and something that the players always do.
It was an unfortunate end to an otherwise impressive run for the 16-year-old.
But that ends her time at Wimbledon, and Keys will now advance to the quarterfinals to take on No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
