Andreeva: "I Am Learning to Deal with Defeats More Quickly"
The Russian, who made her debut with a victory at Wimbledon, stated that it took her several days to overcome her elimination in Paris and that she is also at the "intermediate point" between playing enjoying and having doubts.
Mirra Andreeva did not want any surprises in her debut at Wimbledon 2025. The Russian, who arrived somewhat annoyed at the grass court season after her tough and unexpected defeat in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros against Lois Boisson, and got frustrated in her exit at Bad Homburg, finally showed her best level on this surface with a clear and convincing victory against Mayar Sherif by 6-3, 6-3.
Despite having been on the circuit for several years and being world number seven, Andreeva is still only 18 years old and is in a maturing process that will take some time. The likes of Carlos Alcaraz or Coco Gauff experienced the same in their day, both Roland Garros champions, and the Russian is aware that there will be good and bad days, great victories, and tough defeats. Therefore, after her win against the Egyptian, she attended the press conference to talk about her performance in her debut, her emotional state after the losses in Paris and Bad Homburg, and about her mindset and keys to reaching the top of women's tennis.
Satisfied with her net game
"I was a bit surprised by my level, especially my volleys. Every time I approached the net, I was confident I would hit a great volley, so I don't know why I felt that way today, but it gave me the impression that I would earn many free points. So, yes, we have been practicing a lot to improve my volleys and, in general, my net game. That's why I always play a lot of doubles matches. I finally believe the hard work is paying off. So, yes, that's what we've been working on in recent months."
Impressed by her opponent, Mayar Sherif
"I have never played with her, never practiced with her, never seen how she plays. So, it was challenging. I was hoping Conchita would give me good advice about her game. Honestly, I didn't know how she was going to play, but I found she had a great serve. She had a very good and fast groundstroke. My goal was to stay low and try to play my game and be aggressive. But I think she played very well and I'm happy to have won today. It was quite a tough first round for me."
Recovering from the tough defeat at Roland Garros
"We had many talks and conversations. But you know, you play tournaments every week. It's not possible to win every tournament. So, you learn to deal with the losses. Sometimes it's easier, sometimes it's harder. For instance, it was very tough to recover at the French Open. It took me a couple of days, but I took many positive things from those weeks. Berlin was also tough, but a bit easier. It didn't take me as long as in Paris. So, I suppose I'm also progressing in that. But here, I just learn to deal with losses faster. I think it also depends on how you lose and in which tournament. But yes, we had many conversations. In the end, we took many positive things from all the weeks I played before."
The key to her success
"In all the matches I've played from the beginning, I've just tried to win every point, run every point, put as many balls on the court as I could. But the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy. I think that has been the key in my career."
Good days and bad days
"Some days I also have a lot of doubts, and it also depends on the day. Sometimes I feel like I'm playing amazingly, and I just go for my shots. Of course, sometimes there are days when I doubt every shot I hit. I'm more or less in the middle. I suppose I'm still learning and seeking the best, but I find myself at an intermediate point.
Turning to phrases from other famous athletes
"It also depends on the day. Sometimes I feel I have the tools I need to feel good mentally on the court, but sometimes I feel there are days when I need to prepare too much, I don't know, by having some phrases from, I don't know, tennis players or basketball or football. So sometimes I just look for what, I don't know, a certain person said about this. If I like what they said and feel I identify with it, I write it in my notebook and always carry it with me, as I did in Indian Wells with LeBron James's quote. I have a few more, but for now, I'll focus on having them in my notebook. Maybe after this tournament, I'll share some," said Andreeva, who is beginning to understand the process of maturing as a professional tennis player.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Andreeva: "Estoy aprendiendo a lidiar más rápido con las derrotas"