Female tennis star refuses to play final with male ranked 1145 taking her place
Women's tennis star Mirra Andreeva, 16, took on male player Yanis Ghazouani Durand after her original opponent refused to play the final.
Andreeva, who is from Russia, had been scheduled to play Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the final of the Negometal Open, France. However, Kostyuk, 21, refused to play the game due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
A statement from the organisers read: "Due to reasons beyond our will and given the geopolitical context in Ukraine, Marta Kostyuk will not be able to compete in the final of the 6th edition of Negometal Open.
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"We've done our best to activate our network of professional players, but the time is unfortunately too short to find a replacement. So we took the decision to compete our Peageois Yanis Ghazouani Durand against the young prodigy Mirra Andreeva. Thank you for your understanding."
Durand, who is ranked 1145th in the world, won the match 7-5 6-2.
What do you think of Mirra Andreeva's opponent pulling out the match? Let us know in the comments section below
Andreeva has had a breakthrough year on the tour – and she's reached the main draw of all three Grand Slams. She made it to the third round of the French Open back in the spring, before going one step further at Wimbledon over the summer.
However, it was at the US Open where she earned plaudits – clashing with local hero Coco Gauff in the second round. The pair put on an instant classic, with Gauff emerging as the winner as she went onto claim the overall win at Flushing Meadows.
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