Mirra Andreeva’s meteoric rise reached its peak. At just 19 years old, the Russian conquered Roland Garros this Saturday and, beyond crediting herself for never stopping believing, she also gave a starring role to her psychologist: “She deserves a lot of credit,” she admitted.
“I’ve actually talked to my psychologist before semifinal and final match, because I thought that it would help me be in the right state of mind. She gave me a lot of advices and techniques that I could use on the court to help myself to experience all of these things a little bit better and easier” she explained after beating Polish player Maja Chwalinska 6-3 and 6-2 in the final, who wrote one of the most incredible stories of the tournament.
Andreeva is a teenager, but also a megastar on the tour. That duality, extremely difficult to achieve, also brings demands and excessive pressure from the tennis world, to the point where many were asking for a Grand Slam from her when she was still junior age. She arrived in Paris carrying that weight.
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“I decided that, as my psychologist says, you can always choose how you are going to be on the court, how you are going to play and who you are going to be as a person. So I decided to choose to be a fighter,” she said.
Speaking about that new mindset, she also recalled Roger Federer and the way he carried himself on court. “I’ve watched a lot of Roger’s matches here and I felt that I really wanted to try to impersonate the way he behaves on the court, because I love watching him when he used to play. Maybe that helped me a little bit, because I wanted to look good on the court, not be frustrated or unhappy with how I play,” she said.
The path to success of the new world number six is marked by precocity. At 15 she won her first match at a Masters 1000 and at 16 she reached the third round at Wimbledon. At 17 she broke through among the tour’s top names, reaching the Roland Garros semifinals, winning an Olympic silver medal in doubles and claiming the Masters 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells.
Now, at 19, she becomes the youngest player since Monica Seles in 1992 to win the Roland Garros title, and she lifts her first Grand Slam at a younger age than Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Ash Barty, the most prominent players of the last decade.
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“I have visualized this moment many times, not just during this tournament. I have thought a lot about how it was going to happen, if it was going to happen, or when and where it was going to happen. So the feeling in real life is so much better. It’s incredible to realize that I can call myself a Grand Slam champion,” she said at the press conference.
With the dream now a reality, she is no longer just the tour’s great promise, but also a Grand Slam champion and a real contender to storm the top of the rankings. “These feelings are special and I’m already thinking about how I’m going to prepare for the grass season and how I’m going to play those tournaments. This is a little addictive and I already want to experience all of this again,” she said.
She will arrive at Wimbledon with her psychologist, but also with Spanish coach Conchita Martínez, who has been by her side since 2024. “We have worked a lot together, on and off the court. We have also been through so many great moments and some difficult ones too. It’s very, very nice to share something like this with her and see how happy she is. She told me she is very proud of me. To hear those words from her is very, very special,” she explained.
A special team that touched the sky and is ready to keep making history. Time is on her side — among the young players she is the best, and the whole world already knows she is a champion.
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