Three players will break new ground at Roland Garros 2023 by contesting the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. Get to know them here.
Mirra Andreeva
Mirra Andreeva's arrival this year has been sensational. The Australian Open junior finalist's breakout tournament was Madrid. Contesting the second WTA main draw of her career, she notched upsets of Leylah Fernandez, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Magda Linette to reach the last 16. She became the seventh player to defeat a Top 20 opponent before her 16th birthday this century.
Five quick hits with Mirra Andreeva
Andreeva, who turned 16 during Madrid, has backed that up to successfully navigate her first Grand Slam qualifying campaign. The teenager's key attributes -- keen shot selection, a precise backhand and a fine drop shot -- were all on display, particularly in a top-quality 7-6(8), 6-4 third-round defeat of No.1 seed Camila Osorio.
Her pro record in 2023 now stands at a remarkable 20-2, which follows the 39-9 record with which she began her career in 2022. This includes three ITF W60 titles since last November -- she is the only player in ITF World Tour history to win multiple events at this level before turning 16.
Highlights: M.Andreeva d. Fernandez, 2023 Madrid R1 | M.Andreeva d. Haddad Maia, 2023 Madrid R2 | M.Andreeva d. Linette, 2023 Madrid R3
Unranked just 14 months ago, Andreeva has risen to a career high of No.143 this week. With it have come two milestones: For the first time, Andreeva is both the highest-ranked player born in 2007 (overtaking Brenda Fruhvirtova) and the highest-ranked player in her family (overtaking 18-year-old sister Erika, herself a promising talent).
Andreeva will get the opportunity to hit further milestones when she opens against Alison Riske-Amritraj.
Iryna Shymanovich
"Back where I belong," wrote Iryna Shymanovich on Instagram ahead of her Roland Garros qualifying campaign. It was her first professional Grand Slam competition, and a long time coming for the former junior No.2 who reached the girls' quarterfinals here in 2014.
Shymanovich was a 2013 Wimbledon girls' doubles finalist (alongside Anhelina Kalinina) and the 2014 Youth Olympic Games silver medalist (defeating Kalinina and Sofia Kenin en route). But her professional career has been consistently disrupted by injuries, and she was unable to play more than 10 tournaments in a single season until 2021.
The breakthroughs have been finally coming of late. Shymanovich played in her first WTA main draw in Cleveland last August as a lucky loser and won her first ITF W60 tournament in Rio de Janeiro -- where she also trains -- last December. In April, she captured her first WTA doubles title in Bogota with Irina Khromacheva. And this week, she battled through a series of grueling tests to make the main draw, overcoming home hope Margaux Rouvroy 7-6(0), 7-6(4) in the second round then holding off Mai Hontama 6-2, 3-6, 7-6[4] in a 3-hour, 17-minute third round.
Shymanovich will start the main draw against Panna Udvardy, with a potential second-round meeting with No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka at stake.
Simona Waltert (SUI)
To date, former junior No.9 Simona Waltert's greatest impacts on the pro tour have come in her home tournament of Lausanne. In 2019, she made her WTA main-draw debut there as a wild card and promptly eliminated No.1 seed Julia Goerges after the German retired trailing in the third set. Two years later, Waltert partnered with compatriot Susan Bandecchi to win her first WTA doubles title. And last year, she once again drew the No.1 seed in the first round -- and this time was able to complete the job, notching her first Top 10 win over Danielle Collins 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(6) from triple match point down.
Highlights: Waltert d. Collins, 2022 Lausanne R1 | Waltert d. Bucsa, 2022 Lausanne R2
Waltert backed up the Collins upset to reach her first WTA quarterfinal -- part of a surge last year that saw her rise from No.217 to No.120. The 22-year-old came within one win of making her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, falling in the third round of qualifying to Katherine Sebov but got over the last hurdle this time in three sets over Elsa Jacquemot.
Waltert opens against fellow qualifier Elizabeth Mandlik.
Previously:
Australian Open 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Shnaider, Grabher, Brenda Fruhvirtova and more
US Open 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Linda Fruhvirtova, Bejlek, Erika Andreeva and more
Wimbledon 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Chwalinska, Pigossi, Yuan and more
Roland Garros 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Noskova, Niemeier, Jeanjean and more
Australian Open 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Zheng Qinwen, Bondar, Bronzetti and more
US Open 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Parrizas Diaz, Parks, Masarova and more
Wimbledon 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Raducanu, Burrage
Roland Garros 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Osorio, Liang, Gorgodze and more
Australian Open 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Danilovic, Jones
Roland Garros 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Tauson, Sherif, Rakhimova and more
US Open 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Gracheva, Montgomery, Korpatsch and more
Australian Open 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Fernandez, Trevisan, Cocciaretto and more
US Open 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Wang Xiyu, Volynets, Bolkvadze
Wimbledon 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Gauff, McNally, Flink
Roland Garros 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Rybakina, Samsonova, Parry and more
Australian Open 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Swiatek, Badosa, Veronika Kudermetova and more
US Open 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Teichmann, Yastremska, Bouzkova and more
Wimbledon 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Ruse, Dart, Lapko and more
Roland Garros 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Krejcikova, Dolehide, Jakupovic and more
Australian Open 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Kostyuk, Pera, Wang Xinyu and more
