17-YO Rising WTA Star Confesses to Being a ‘Pain in the A**’ in Cheeky Admission on Her Equation With Legendary Coach

At just 17, Russian star, Mirra Andreeva has been making big waves on the tennis circuit. While she caught the tennis world’s eye with gritty performances in 2023, her real success came last year, when she won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Additionally, Andreeva also reached the semifinals of the French Open. Despite announcing herself on the big stage, Andreeva still has a child living inside her as she made a candid confession about her off-court antics.

Last season, the Russian sensation appointed former Wimbledon champion, Conchita Martinez as her new coach. While the partnership has worked wonders, Andreeva isn’t easy to work with and explained how she purposefully tries to p*ss her coach off.

During an interview at Brisbane International, Andreeva 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. But she’s doing good job so far. She’s okay.”

However, under the watchful guidance of Martinez, she has been able to rack up consistent performances tournament after tournament. “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. Sometimes could be better… but she’s ok,” the Russian sensation revealed.

Interestingly, Andreeva has often been compared to the Swiss legend, Martina Hingis due to similarities in their playing style. The latter was also one of Andreeva’s choices to become her coach. However, Hingis turned down the coaching offer from Andreeva.

Why did Martina Hingis decline the coaching offer from Mirra Andreeva?

While Hingis had worked as a coach before, she was forced to turn down Andreeva’s coaching offer. Following her tennis commitments, Hingis has been focussing on her personal life and her duty as a parent. Thus, she couldn’t commit to joining the Russian star’s coaching team.

Explaining the reason behind it, Hingis said, “It was also funny, because this year she asked me if I would want to coach her. And I’m a big fan of hers, the way she plays. Unfortunately I couldn’t take that job because of my daughter going to kindergarten and I’m not able to travel as much. But Conchita Martinez is doing a great job with helping her on the way and defining her game and making her a better player. So we’ll see how far she’s going to take it.”

Andreeva is into the quarterfinals of Brisbane International and will face Ons Jabeur in the last eight tomorrow. Can she begin her season with a bang by winning the title in Brisbane? Let us know your views in the comments below.