Picture this: French Open, June 2023. Two teenage girls, Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva. The fiery 16-year-old was a whirlwind, just a year into her pro career, and she was intense. Like, remember that moment she smacked a ball into the crowd? Seriously, she nearly got booted from the whole tournament! She even admitted it was “really bad.” Fast forward to now, Dubai 2025, and she’s the youngest WTA Finals champ. It’s like, what?! How did that happen? She’s so calm, so collected. It’s a total 180! “Mirra-culous” is right! Even Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams’ ex-coach, is totally blown away by this transformation!

In an episode of her podcast, dated February 25, Stubbs recalled Andreeva’s face-off with Gauff that year, “She’s always been a very headsy player, even for someone so young. Her biggest issue back in the day was just losing her mind. I mean, she was so young and I’ll never forget.”

“I remember when she played Coco Gauff years ago at the French Open and won the first set. And literally in the second game is yelling and screaming. Like the first or second game of the second set is like yelling and screaming at her box. And I’m like, what is going on? You’ve just won the first set. Like, why are you throwing a racket, carrying on?”

She mentioned how Coco Gauff took advantage of Andreeva’s anger. Being more experienced than her, she looked more calm and composed and thus snatched the win despite trailing in the first set. However, Stubbs believes that two years later, Andreeva has shown a remarkable change. How?

It’s because now “nothing bothers her on the court anymore.” And that, “She just, like, literally walks from one side to the other, never displays any pissed offness at all. It’s a remarkable change in the last 2-3 years.” And guess who the Russian tennis player gave the credit to for this overhaul?

Well, it’s none other than Andreeva’s coach and former WTA legend Conchita Martinez.

Mirra Andreeva reveals how Conchita Martinez helped her improve on-court conduct and performance

Mirra Andreeva brought Martinez to her team last season. But working with the teenager isn’t an easy task, as revealed by the player herself. During an interview at Brisbane International, she said, “I would say that I’m still a kid sometimes. I can get angry.” She also confessed how jelling with the ex-Spanish tennis icon wasn’t a smooth experience.

“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.” But guess what? Andreeva believes her coach is “doing good job” when it comes to handling her temperament.

Admiring Martinez’s contribution in her improved performance, she added, “Thanks to Conchita. She helped me improve, so thanks to her. I know sometimes it’s not easy to work with me. I think she’s doing a good job so far.” Under Martinez’s tutelage, Andreeva has accomplished a lot already.

Speaking of the last few months, she made it to the 2024 Ningbo Open finals, 2025 Brisbane International semis, 2025 Australian Open fourth round. Yes, there was a dip in the form in Doha where she was ousted early. But Andreeva returned strongly and how!

At the Dubai Tennis Championships, last week, she became the youngest WTA 1000 finalist and clinched the trophy as well. After her victory, she credited her coach Martinez, saying, “you have always been there for me and it feels great to lift this title together. And I hope that we can lift many more trophies together”

Earlier this week, after the update in WTA rankings, Andreeva became the youngest player to break into top 10 since Czechia’s Nicole Vaidišová in 2007. Jumping five spots from No.14, she’s currently sitting at the 9th position. Talk about a transformation!