Teenage talent team up in doubles before playing each other at Miami Open in changing world of women’s game
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ictoria Mboko and Mirra Andreeva, the two highest-ranked teenagers in the world, prepared for their marquee Miami Open fourth-round match in an unusual manner. Aside from being the two protagonists of the freshest rivalry in women’s tennis, they are also great friends, and so they spent the afternoon before their big match against each other competing on the same side of the net in doubles.
This was an opportunity to giggle, relax and enjoy themselves on one of the smaller courts in Miami, but Mboko and Andreeva are ranked No 9 and No 10 in the world for a reason. Two fiercely competitive beings determined to win every time on the court, they fought desperately and emerged with an impressive result. After trailing 0-5 against the eighth seeds, Demi Schuurs and Ellen Perez, in the opening set and facing eight set points scattered across the set, they somehow emerged from the match with a straight-sets win.
Their success and budding rivalry underlines a few things about women’s tennis in 2026. Although teenagers have been such a constant presence in the sport, dating back to the days of Chris Evert, a few years ago an 18‑year‑old Coco Gauff cut a lonely figure at the top of the sport and there was a dearth of talent beneath her. In March 2023, Gauff was the only teenager ranked inside the top 50.
