👧 Mira Akbalaban | Tennis Papers interview, August 2025

“My tennis dream is to play at Wimbledon and play for my national team.”

Meet Mira Akbalaban, Turkish-British junior girl, talent tennis player who lives in Turkey and competes.

📘 Mira Akbalaban | Biography, Aug 2025

🎙️Mira Akbalaban | Interview, Aug 2025

Hello, introduce yourself please.
My name is Mira Akbalaban. I’m 8 years old. I was born on the 14th of july 2017.
I live in Didim, Aydin in Turkey but am a dual national (Turkish and British).

At what age did you start playing tennis?
I started playing tennis at the age of 4.

Are there other tennis players in your family?
My brother used to play but no longer does, my father and my cousin play tennis.

What is your club?
I play for Didim Tenis Akademisi.

Who is your coach?
My coach is Fatma Kızılırmak.

How many hours a week do you train tennis and do physical training?
During school term I do around 15 hours of training a week.
However during the summer holiday I’m doing around 19 hours of training a week. That includes three hours of physical training.

Do you have any sponsors?
I currently don’t have any sponsors but hope to as I get recognised.

What racket do you play with?
I use Babolat but have also used Wilson.

What is your junior category, what is your national ranking, what are your best results?
At age 8 we don’t have rankings in Turkey.
However I have played 4 weekend tournaments and 1 summer cup since the end of March and have not lost a game yet.

In which countries have you ever been to play tennis?
Only Turkey so far.

What is your tennis dream?
My tennis dream is to play at Wimbledon and play for my national team.

Who are your favorite male and female tennis players?
Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner.

Thanks a lot Mira!
Tennis Papers wishes you the best in your tennis life 💜🩷

🎾 Mira Akbalaban | Tennis training, Aug 2025