Whenever a Grand Slam ends, discussions regarding how the Major-winning hierarchy in the sport might shift take place. That was the topic of discussion after Mirra Andreeva won her French Open title. Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, was part of the discussion, offering his opinion. While he did give his former player a fair shot at increasing her Slam tally, he also had a unique perspective on Andreeva’s chances at the sport’s biggest competitions.

“Of those six, I’d buy Coco Gauff at two and Elena Rybakina at two. I think they’re going to keep increasing. I still think Iga Swiatek probably has one more push, but right now I actually like Gauff and Rybakina better. I don’t know if they’re going to get past six [Slams], but I think they’re going to win more than the others over the next couple of years.

“And I would also add Mirra Andreeva now because she got the first one. I think a second one will come quickly,” said Gilbert on the latest episode of the Big T podcast.

That is one bold take from the veteran American coach, as the Russian player does not have a stellar record on grass as Wimbledon approaches. She has not reached any Tour-level final on the surface, but did reach the quarterfinal at the All England Lawn Tennis Club last year, losing to Belinda Bencic.

Andreeva has yet to have a great outing at either of the hard-court Majors, not making it past the fourth round in Australia and not going past the third round barrier in New York. However, the young Russian does have three hard-court titles, including two WTA 1000 titles, notably the Indian Wells title last year, won over Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The French Open win will have increased the Russian’s confidence, but one fact to take away from her run was that all four top seeds were already out, including Gauff and Rybakina, leaving the draw open for her.

That said, Andreeva still capitalized on the opportunity in emphatic fashion, becoming the youngest Roland Garros women’s singles champion since Monica Seles won the title in 1992.

However, if one were to look at the head-to-heads between Andreeva and some of the top-ranked players, she’s actually even with Rybakina, and has a 3-1 lead over Swiatek. However, it is the matchups against Sabalenka and Gauff where Andreeva is trailing at the moment, with the Belarusian holding a 4-2 record and Gauff a 5-0 one against the 19-year-old.

Gilbert is not the only notable voice in the sport who is bullish about Andreeva’s future. 18-time Major champion Chris Evert was in awe of the Russian teenager as well, stating that she had the technical skill set and the mental fortitude to win multiple Major titles and become the face of the sport in the future. “Andreeva is not going to be a flash in the pan. She is not going to win one Grand Slam, and that’s it. She is going to win five, six or seven,” said Evert on TNT Sports. “She is the future of women’s tennis”.

Andreeva’s run during the Paris fortnight was a coming-of-age performance from the teenager, who created her own legacy by lifting the Suzanne Lenglen trophy. Her title also elevated her into a select active group of Grand Slam champions that includes the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff, further validating the belief that she belongs among the sport’s elite rather than merely its next generation.

Mirra Andreeva Lost Only One Set en Route to Her Maiden Grand Slam Win

Coming into this event, Andreeva had shown signs of good clay-court form, having reached the Madrid Open final and continuing to build on a season that had already produced major results on hard courts. She began her campaign with a routine 6-3, 6-3 win over Fiona Ferro in the first round. The second round against Spanish qualifier Marina Ribera was where the Russian teenager faced some jeopardy, as she lost the first set but recovered strongly to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Andreeva had it smooth sailing in the next two rounds, securing straight-set victories over Marie Bouzkova and Jill Teichman. The Russian faced a tricky opponent in Soran Cirstea in the fourth round, with the Romanian playing some inspired tennis in what is set to be her last year. However, this is when Andreeva stamped her authority on the tournament, winning 6-3, 6-0 to reach the semifinal. She had another tough challeng we in the last four as she faced Marta Kostyuk, who had an unbeaten 13-match streak on clay before that match andas the one who had beaten Andreeva in the Madrid final last month.

In another show of composure and dominance, Andreeva did not let past performances cloud her mind, winning 6-1, 6-3 against the Ukrainian and facing Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska in the final. The championship match carried its own intrigue, with Chwalinska entering on a nine-match winning streak after becoming just the second woman in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam final through qualifying following Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open triumph. This is where Andreeva not only showed her baseline power but also put her tactical side on display, along with a rock-solid mentality.

The Russian eventually sealed a 6-3, 6-2 victory, completing a tournament in which she dropped only one set. Reflecting on the achievement afterward, Andreeva admitted that reality had surpassed even the visions she had imagined beforehand.

“I’ve done a lot of visualisations before. Not just this tournament, but I’ve had dreams, I’ve had a lot of thoughts on how it’s going to happen,” Andreeva said. “I would say the feeling in real life is so much better than in your dreams.”

Her ability to adapt, along with her already existing tennis gifts, is what makes the likes of Gilbert and Evert bullish about the Russian winning other Grand Slams across other surfaces as well.