In less than a year, Mirra Andreeva and Conchita Martinez have forged a partnership that blurs the lines between mentorship and mischief, vaulting the 17-year-old to Indian Wells glory and making her the youngest Top 10 debutante in 18 years. Their 35-year age gap only sharpens their chemistry—Martinez, the playful mentor, and Andreeva, the irrepressible prodigy, move through the tour like co-conspirators, laughter echoing down hotel corridors. “From the first moments, it was a very good fit,” Martinez admitted not too long ago. “We joke a lot, which is always nice. She is playful, and I can follow her because I’m kind of playful, too.” Their infectious energy spills beyond the court, and Mirra never misses a chance to showcase it—especially when it’s time to celebrate Martinez’s birthday.

As the clay season began, Mirra found herself in a bittersweet situation—facing her older sister, Erika Andreeva, in her tournament debut on Wednesday. Mirra advanced to round two after Erika retired with a knee injury, trailing 6-2, 1-0. Mirra admitted she felt “a little bit sad” about the match ending that way, but she couldn’t hide her excitement at notching her first win over her big sister. The atmosphere lightened when the interviewer mentioned former world No. 1 Martinez, who has been coaching Erika for almost a year.

Mirra’s eyes sparkled as she said, “I can say for sure that with her it’s more relaxed, even though on the court we work hard and sometimes she’s a bit too tough with me! That I would like to change, by the way!” She smiled and added, “If she wouldn’t be that tough with me, I don’t think I would play that well right now, but we have an amazing atmosphere in the team, and I hope she’d agree!”

In a burst of playful energy, Mirra grabbed the microphone and sang “Happy birthday!” to Martinez, who was celebrating her 53rd birthday on April 16.

“I really wanna embarrass her a little bit!” the 17-year-old exclaimed before leading the crowd in serenading Martinez. Their relationship is a joy to watch.

Martinez joined Mirra’s coaching team in April 2024 at the Rouen Open. After just a year, Mirra says, “It feels like I’ve known her for a long time.” Martinez has already transformed Mirra’s game, guiding her to a Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros, her first WTA title in Iasi, and those career-defining WTA 1000 crowns in Dubai and Indian Wells.

Andreeva doesn’t pretend to be an easy student—she actually admits to purposefully trying to get under her coach’s skin. Reflecting on her dynamic with coach Conchita during the Brisbane International, Mirra said,

“I would say that I’m still a kid sometimes. I can get angry. If you said something that I didn’t like, I’m like, Okay, well, I’m going to do something that she doesn’t like as well. I try to p*ss her off. She’s like, Oh, my God, what are you doing? We start laughing about it and we forget about all of that. I just can be a little pain in the a** sometimes.” Despite the playful mischief, Mirra has thrived under Martinez’s steady guidance.

Asked about Martinez’s support off the court at a press conference before Indian Wells, Mirra replied, “Yes, definitely she does. Of course, it’s super special to have her by my side.” Andreeva admitted this partnership wasn’t something she saw coming, but it’s already proven to be something special.

Mirra Andreeva recalled the serendipitous meeting with her coach

Andreeva’s first encounter with Conchita Martinez was pure curiosity. She remembered, “I saw her just walking around here, and, you know, at that time, I didn’t know her. So I just saw one woman always looking at me, you know, smiling, saying hi. I’m like, ‘Okay, who is that? Why is she so friendly? Why is she saying hi?’”

Only later did Mirra realize this friendly face was none other than Martinez—a former Wimbledon champion, ex-World No. 2, and coach to former No.1s Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza. Once the greetings turned into conversations, their relationship quickly blossomed into a professional partnership.

Their journey officially kicked off at the 2024 Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole last April. Mirra made an instant impact, taking down Nadia Podoroska in the first round, 6-1, 6-3, in just 75 minutes under Martinez’s watchful eye. “Since the first tournament that we had together, I just felt like I knew her for so long,” Mirra said. “It just felt super natural to be on the court with her and off the court as well.”

Now, the duo heads into another clay season, building on Mirra’s past success on red soil. Her career clay record stands at an impressive 74 wins and 24 losses, an 81% win rate. Add in a silver medal in doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and it’s clear this partnership is already rewriting the record books. Could this be another milestone in their already impressive journey? Share your thoughts in the comments below!