Timothee Chalamet Comparison Becomes Inevitable as Tennis Bigwig Applauds 17YO Russian WTA Star’s Winning Mindset

Mirra Andreeva is making waves in the tennis world, earning widespread praise. Rick Macci predicts she’ll soon reach No.1 and win multiple Grand Slams after her victory at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships against Clara Tauson. 17 and thriving! Andreeva hit the Top 20 in ‘24, made a Slam semi, and now she’s World No. 9. So, who’s stopping her? Caitlin Thompson and Rennae Stubbs were sure impressed by her special thanks to herself in her post-match conference. Even being reminded of another young star, who could that be?

Andreeva’s incredible run in Dubai included victories over Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, culminating in a 7-6(1), 6-1 win over Tauson in the final. This marked her biggest title yet and propelled her to a new career-high ranking. However, it was her post-match press conference that truly stole the show. She humorously thanked herself, saying, “Last but not least, I’d like to thank me. I know what I’ve been dealing with, so I want to thank me for always believing in me. I want to thank me for never quitting & always dealing with the pressure. Today was not easy, but I chose to be there 100%, so I thank myself.”

Thompson discussed Andreeva’s rise on Rennae Stubbs’ podcast, noting a joke that Andreeva has been 17 for what feels like an eternity, given her rapid rise to fame. This phenomenon reminds them of the actor Timothée Chalamet, who was just 21 when he started raking in awards for his early work, including ‘Call Me by Your Name’ in 2017. Thompson recalled, “It was sort of refreshing to see Timothée Chalamet when he won and instead of the usual thing, ‘oh, I’m so grateful.’ he was sort of like ‘yeah, this means a lot to me because I’ve been working hard, I want to be one of the greats. This means something because I want to be as good as I possibly can be’”

She added, “It really reminded me of Andreeva a little bit in her post-match conferences, where she was like, ‘I want to thank me.’”  To many, Mirra’s skills on the court and her energetic persona off the court are what make her a fan facvorite, being just 17 is something many fans can relate to at her age.

Not to mention, being so young, she needs a few role models she can look up to. Maria Sharapova is certainly a name that would come up, being another Russian who dominated the court and won her first grand slam at the age of 17 and became World No.1 at 18. However, before the match, Andreeva chose another sports legends to guide her to glory – LeBron James!

Mirra Andreeva shares how LeBron James inspired her ahead of her Dubai title win

On February 22, Mirra Andreeva faced a tough start against Clara Tauson, but she quickly turned things around. After dropping her serve, she broke back to level the match and dominated the tiebreaker. In the second set, she left Tauson frustrated, winning 7-6(1), 6-1. In the end, Andreeva credited LeBron James for her mental toughness, saying, “It’s easy to be confident & play good when everything goes your way, but what makes you a champion is when you’re giving your best when you don’t feel great. So that’s what I tried to do today.” This victory made her the youngest WTA 1000 champion!

Her inspiration from LeBron might seem surprising, given she’s not a basketball fan. In an interview, she revealed, “To be honest, I’m not a fan, I only know tennis.” She started playing tennis at six and turned pro at 15. Andreeva added, “I don’t know much about anything. I know names like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, but I don’t really watch basketball, the NBA. I was simply looking for motivational quotes, videos to watch before matches.” It seems LeBron’s words hit the right note!

Despite not understanding basketball, she believes LeBron’s advice “worked” for her. This young star’s success is undoubtedly fueled by her own hard work and determination. With this mindset, she’s set to achieve even greater heights in tennis! What do you think?