Mumbai, Jan. 22 -- By dismantling Maria Sakkari, a former world No.3, through the first eight games to pick up a 6-0, 6-4 win on Wednesday, 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva collected her eighth singles victory at the Australian Open. No active teenage female tennis pro has as many. For context, when Emma Raducanu, who crashed out of her second round in Melbourne on Wednesday, pocketed seven main draw singles match wins at the 2021 US Open at 18, she became the champion. Since the turn of the century, Andreeva is only the fourth player to taste 30 or more Grand Slam singles wins before turning 19, as per the WTA. The other three: Maria Sharapova, Nicole Vaidisova and Coco Gauff. Within this small sample of young phenoms in women's tennis lies the varied paths to the pinnacle. And, the benefits of building a solid base before finding the breakthrough. Britain's Raducanu strung a shock Slam title run as a qualifier five years ago and hasn't been able to sustain any kind of momentum since. Sharapova's champion-announcing 2004 Wimbledon triumph at 17 was preceded and backed up by a belonging at the top level. Czech Vaidisova, a top 10 pro at 17, shone early before fading away. American Gauff was talked up for Slam glory a lot earlier than her eventual home run at the 2023 US Open. Andreeva's path doesn't quite overlap with any of these, but there are a couple of undeniable mirroring storylines: the Russian is touted for Slam glory at some point, and carries the feel of belonging at the top. Unlike a few other women teen sensations that have kicked up shock-and-awe storms at Majors, Andreeva, who made one semi-final in 2024 and two quarter-finals in 2025, has had to largely dust off disappointments at the big stage. Unlike most of those Slam-shining teens, though, the current world No.7 has ascended to the elite while building a steady base on the tour and with her game. Even if a moment under the Slam sunshine hasn't come for this promising star yet, patience and an ability to strengthen mental shortcomings is bound to get her there. As a distinct potential on her WTA tour debut in 2022, it didn't take Andreeva long to break into the top 50 (2023) and top 20 (2024). Last year, she became the youngest WTA 1000 champion at Indian Wells beating Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina en route (how many can claim that in their CV?), and also touched the top five. All through, with ex-Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez as coach, she developed a strong all-round game that can take anyone out - including current No.1 Sabalenka whom she has beaten twice. Contrast that to Raducanu, who admitted the need to "re-evaluate" her game after another early Slam exit and frequent coaching changes amid the freefall with injuries and form after her US Open high. Or even Gauff, who, despite being a twice Slam winner and current world No.3, has obvious holes in her game presently. They are, however, Grand Slam champions. Andreeva isn't, yet. And her patience can be tested at times when going through a below-par phase. Like in the Chinese swing late last year, when her on-court performance and body language reeked frustration. "A big snowball" can "just keep rolling" mentally, as she put it on Wednesday. What got the youngster out of it was plenty of talk, to go with work on her mindset and fine-tuning the game, with Conchita during a long pre-season. Andreeva came into Melbourne winning the tune-up Adelaide title. She did not flounder in the mind even when the experienced Sakkari went from 2-0 down to 3-2 up in the second set winning 12 straight points with the crowd behind her. "I feel like there are two different me - me now and me in October," said Andreeva. Can that "me" in 2026 have a shot at Slam success whilst still in her teens?...