‘Crap Happens’ – Instinctive Mirra Andreeva Gets Real About Struggles to Keep Her Head at One Place Under Pressure

Mirra Andreeva is winging her way through Roland Garros! With her free-spirited approach, the 17-year-old Russian tennis prodigy has become the youngest semi-finalist at the French Open since 1997. However, no journey is complete without facing challenges. Andreeva has one too, her inner battle of “decision”-making on-court.

Mirra Andreeva, who turned pro in 2022, recently won one of her biggest career victories in the quarterfinal in Paris by defeating world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka. But her fearless approach on-court hides a lesser-known struggle that she faces while hitting with her racquet. In her own words, Andreeva explained during a post-match conference after her latest victory.

A reporter asked, “When you say that you’re just playing on field, is that shot to shot or point two point? Do you have a plan when you are going into each point or do you just sort of seeing the ball and hitting the ball depending on what’s happening?”

The 2023 WTA Newcomer player responded, “I would say shot to shot. For example, if she plays a forehand cross court, I have time to see where she is standing, where she kind of waits for my ball to go.” But there is a catch in her process, given the fact that she is playing a sport which requires split-second choices. 

“And then I decide, well, what should I do? I go down the line or should I go across? Should I do a drop shot or should I do a lob ? And that’s sometimes not really good because I have a lot of decisions in my mindr and when I change them at the last moment, always some kind of crap happens,” Mirra Andreeva stated.

The 17-year-old, who further addressed the “too many decisions” that go through her head, wants “to keep it simple” and not overthink. Perhaps her ability to surprise her opponent with her instinctive style helped her win over the aggressive Sabalenka on-court with a score of 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4.

“I even forgot what was the score because I really try not to focus on that. And, when it was the second match point for me, I was trying to imagine that I’m saving a break point. So I tried to play brave and, I managed to win,” she had previously said.

The 38th ranked player, who is over the moon after her victory, will now witness a huge rise in her career ranking (No. 23). Apart from that, Andreeva has also made history by being the youngest player to earn a victory against a top 2 player in a grand slam since 1999. Andreeva, who previously fell short against Sabalenka in Madrid, will now face Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals. But before she does that, the teenager also revealed another one of her strategies while playing tennis.

Mirra Andreeva talks about her “strength” on-court

Mirra Andreeva is currently under the guidance of former world number 2, Conchita Martinez, in Paris. But when it comes to playing on-court, Andreeva has her own techniques to follow. “I always play the way I want to play. We have a plan with my coach for the match, but after, I forget everything, and when I play a match, I don’t have any thoughts in my head,” the Cannes based player added.

“So I would say that my strength could be that I just play how I want to play and I do whatever I want to do,” Mirra Andreeva concluded. The Russian player has already made her mark in her fourth quarter final appearance in a tournament this season. As she continues to rise, the tennis world will remember not only her physical prowess, but also her psychological approach to the game.