After winning her first Grand Slam title at just 19 years of age, Mirra Andreeva immediately switched her attention to her next challenge, admitting she relished the “extra special” feelings of her huge accomplishment and that she wants more.
“These feelings are something extra special. I’m already thinking about how I’m going to prepare for the grass season and how I’m going to play grass tournaments. I really want to do my best to experience all of this for a second time.”
The 19-year-old tennis superstar announced herself on the world stage after a trouble-free 6-3, 6-2 win over Maja Chwalinska – who had defeated Diana Shnaider to become the first qualifier to reach a slam final since Emma Raducanu at the US Open 2021 – and was still in a state of shock when speaking to the media over an hour later.
“I still cannot believe that I’m doing a press conference with a Grand Slam trophy by my side,” she said. “It’s been one of my biggest dreams in my life, and I’m just super happy that I was able to give my best and win the match and win this tournament. I’m actually very happy that Paris came first because I love playing on clay. I’ve played on the surface almost all my life. I also speak a little French, so it feels like the perfect first Grand Slam for me. I’m super happy it happened here.”
Andreeva, even at the young age of 19, already has huge experience: at just 15 years old, she was the third-youngest player to win a match on the WTA 1000 circuit. She also had a stellar junior career including leading the Russia team to victory in the 2021 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals, and reaching the Australian Open junior final in 2023.
The Russian teenager has transitioned from primarily a counter-puncher when she arrived on tour to developing a fearless all-court game with solid groundstrokes and a very effective forehand slice, along with delightful and uplifting post-match interviews. She has an active Instagram account with over half a million followers which is set to rocket after securing her maiden Grand Slam title and being thrust into the sporting limelight.
As an example of just how refreshing Andreeva is to the sporting world, she did something rather unusual in her victory speech and thanked herself – as well as wearing a zipped jacket with the motto “I want to thank myself.”
“I feel like thanking myself has become one of my trademarks now,” she said. “At first, I said it as a joke because I wanted everyone to laugh and think I was funny. Then I realized, why not thank yourself? You’re the one doing the work. You’re the one feeling all the nerves. You’re the one putting in the effort. After some time, I realized it’s actually very important to thank yourself.”
Chwalinska’s varied game style was much talked about coming into the final, but it was actually Andreeva who changed her style more than usual; varying the pace on her forehand while remaining solid on her backhand, and moving forward to the net with confidence. It proved too much for her Polish opponent who ran out of steam in the title match, but who sees her ranking shoot up 93 places to #21.
Andreeva gave huge credit to her rival who was playing her tenth match in the last three weeks.
“Maja has been playing amazing for three weeks. I think it’s very hard to come through qualifying and then go all the way to the final while playing at such a high level,” shesaid. “Obviously, I was very nervous because I’ve never played against her. I knew a little bit about her game style from what Conchita told me, but it’s very different when you play an opponent you’ve never faced before, especially in the final of a Grand Slam. The conditions today were also very difficult. There was a lot of wind blowing in different directions. At some points I couldn’t even understand which way it was going. I’m just happy that I dealt with the conditions and adjusted a little bit faster than she did.”
Andreeva’s tennis journey began in Siberia, inspired by her mother’s passion for tennis after she had watched Marat Safin win the Australian Open in 2005. Along with her older sister Erika – who reached a career-high ranking of #65 in October 2024 – the family moved from Moscow to Cannes, France for better training facilities. She made her debut in 2022 and had already broken the top 50 by October 2023.
After becoming the youngest champion since Monica Seles in 1992, Andreeva gave a special mention her to mental coach in Florida during her victory speech on court, and agreed that she had handled her nerves much better in the past fortnight than two years ago when she reached the semi-finals, and overcame some nervy moments at the start of the tournament.
“The beginning of the tournament was very tricky, I’m not going to lie,” she described. “Obviously, I’ve had some emotional matches and moments on the court. I actually talked to my psychologist before the semifinal match and before the final match because I thought it would help me be in the right state of mind before the most important matches of my life. She gave me a lot of advice and a lot of techniques that I could try and use on the court to help myself experience all of these things a little bit better and easier. That’s why I think she deserves a lot of credit for this.”
Conchita Martinez, who won Wimbledon in 1994 and also coached Garbine Muguruza to the same title in 2017 is now coaching the Russian phenomenon and Andreeva reserved some kind words of appreciation for her.
“For me, it’s very special to share a first Grand Slam trophy with her,” she explained. “We’ve done a lot of work together on and off the court. We’ve also been through so many good moments and some bad moments, especially at the end of last year. It’s very nice to share something like this with her and see how happy she is. She told me she’s very proud of me. Hearing those words from her is very special.”
After taking the first set 6-3, she found herself 5-0 up in the second at the finish line but then lost two games. When asked if she was feeling nervous at that moment, she replied:
“When she won those two games in a row, I was obviously a little disappointed, especially losing the game on my serve. But on that side of the court, I felt the wind was pushing the ball forward. You couldn’t hit as hard as usual because the ball would just fly long. I told myself it was fine. I preferred the other side of the court anyway, so I thought I’d try to win the game from there.”
Andreeva further explained that she had worked a lot mentally to visualise herself in a winning position and winning a Grand Slam.
“I’ve done a lot of visualizations before. Not just this tournament, but I’ve had dreams and a lot of thoughts on how it’s going to happen, if it’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, and where. I would say that the feeling in real life is so much better, obviously, than in your dreams. It just feels incredible looking at this trophy and realizing that this is actually true, and I can call myself a Grand Slam champion.”
After the match Andreeva revealed she had positive words and praise from former Russian Grand Slam Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, and also knew that Maria Sharapova was in town.
“I knew she Maria was also in Paris. I thought to myself that if she was watching, it would be really nice to show good tennis and a high level. I also knew that Sveta was here. She sent me a voice message before the match with a lot of positive thoughts and encouragement. She told me to be happy, enjoy the moment, and appreciate that it was my first Grand Slam final. I really appreciated that, and I hope they both watched the final and enjoyed it.”
Although she lost in the Madrid final last month Andreeva prepared for the French Open by watching previous matches of Roger Federer here, and tried to take inspiration from his fighting spirit, as well as preparing for every match by consulting her journal, something she adds to regularly
“I watched a lot of Roger’s matches here, and while I’ll never have the same aura as him, I wanted to try to imitate the way he behaved on the court because I loved watching him play. Maybe that helped me a little bit. I wanted to look good on the court, not be frustrated, and not be unhappy with how I was playing. I decided to choose to be a fighter. I think it’s also nice for the fans to watch players who fight, compete, and try their best.
“As for my notebook, I write things before every match and after every match,” she said. “Before the match, I write tactical notes, technical reminders, and key points I need to remember if things aren’t working. I also write a lot of encouragement, motivation, and positive thoughts that I can look at if I need support during the match. After the match, I write about how it went, how I felt, and how my opponent played. That way I’m also preparing myself for the next time I face that opponent.”
