Mirra Andreeva has admitted that she is learning how to deal with pressure after her opening round win in Brisbane.
The world number nine enters the 2026 season having had a career best year last year having won WTA 1000 events in Dubai and Indian Wells.
However, after Wimbledon Andreeva’s form dipped as it was a rather tame end to the year for the 18 year-old.
Andreeva is still young and has a lot to learn in her career as she aims for more success in 2026 especially at the Grand Slams.
It was a good start to the 2026 season for Andreeva who overcame a first set scare to defeat Olivia Gadecki 4-6 6-1 6-2.
Success comes with pressure and Andreeva believes she is dealing with that well heading into the new season, “I did feel pressure from a lot of people, especially after I won the two tournaments,” Andreeva told the WTA website.
“I felt like people would expect me to win Miami, and then they would expect me to win Madrid and Rome. And I was, you know, that’s basically almost not possible. I did feel the pressure that people were expecting me to win basically every tournament that I would play, and that was not easy. But last year I learned a lot how to deal with the pressure, how to not pay attention to what people say, and how to talk about this.
“Because I was talking a lot about how I felt with my team and now I feel like I know more about this. I have learned a lot from the last year, and if that happens this year, I certainly know what to do with this.”
Andreeva will be hoping that she can continue to deal with the pressure as the season develops with preparation continuing towards the Australian Open.
At last year’s Australian Open, Andreeva lost in the fourth round to Aryna Sabalenka and will hope to match or better that showing this year.
The preparations continue when she faces Linda Noskova in the third round on Thursday.
In other results on Wednesday, Amanda Anisimova thrashed Kimberly Birrell while Jessica Pegula came back from 4-2 down in the deciding set to defeat Anna Kalinskaya.
WTA Brisbane Third Round Matches
Aryna Sabalenka (1) v Sorana Cirstea
Diana Shnaider (12) v Madison Keys (5)
Elena Rybakina (3) v Paula Badosa (15)
Karolina Muchova (11) v Ekaterina Alexandrova (7)
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Liudmila Samsonova (10)
Dayana Yastremska v Jessica Pegula (4)
Mirra Andreeva (6) v Linda Noskova (9)
Marta Kostyuk (16) v Amanda Anisimova (2)
