'Don't Think': Teen Star Andreeva Explains Odd Strategy Behind Wins Over Swiatek and Rybakina
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Mirra Andreeva stunned the tennis world again at the 2025 Dubai Championships, and she explained her approach to her matches after reaching the WTA 1000 final.
Andreeva became the youngest-ever WTA 1000 finalist after beating Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals of the event. Prior to that, the 17-year-old player also stunned Iga Swiatek.
She's been playing just at an incredible level, and her success came shortly after she lost already in her second match at the Qatar Open in Doha the previous week.
The teenager has never had such a successful run before, even though she's already a Grand Slam semi-finalist, having played in the French Open semi-finals in 2024.
She reached the semi-finals in Dubai without losing a set, but her match against Rybakina proved to be a proper battle. After the match, Andreeva spoke about how mentally challenging it was for her.
She won the first set, but in the second set, she was broken at the worst possible time, down 4-5, and out of nowhere, it was game on at the start of the third set.
Something similar happened in their only previous meeting in 2023. Andreeva won the first set, and she even had a one-break advantage in the second set, leading 4-2, before she lost the set 4-6 and then also the match. This time, she wanted to avoid that.
"It was a bit hard after the second set. I don't think I had any break points, but I just felt like I was very close. I was right there with her. In the end I had few flashbacks to our last match in 2023. So I was like, 'No, this is not happening again. Mirra, c'mon.'"
"I went to the toilet. I tried to take my time. I tried to think what am I supposed to do. I tried to change something. Then, in the end, I just kept believing in myself."
"I was like, 'Well, I won the first set, I was right there with her in the second, didn't go my way, so I'm just going to keep playing my game. I'm just going to keep putting the ball in, run, fight, do whatever I can.' In the end, it worked somehow. I don't even know how."
Andreeva admitted that she felt like she missed out on a lot of chances to win against Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova in Doha, which is why she tried adjusting her mindset in Dubai.
The 17-year-old Russian player doesn't want to think about what's happening on the tennis courts too much. That brings her the best results, even though she calls it "a paradox."
"Honestly, after playing in Doha and losing tough second round, having a lot of opportunities, I just felt a bit down. Not depressed. I was, 'Well, maybe now this time I'm not playing my best tennis, so OK, it's fine.'"
"Last year, I didn't play so well on these courts in Dubai. I was like, 'Well, OK, whatever. I'm just going to play. We're going to see.' In the end, when you don't think about what's going to happen, it always ends up being one of the best tournaments of your career. I don't know if it's a paradox or something, but it's just like this."
