Mirra Andreeva has opened up on the increased pressure she has faced since winning two WTA titles and earning millions in prize money. The young Russian celebrated her 18th birthday earlier this year, which saw her gain control of her finances. She initially had to hand over her winnings to her father, who managed her money until she reached adulthood.
Andreeva earned a total of £1.3million from her triumphs at the Dubai Open and Indian Wells earlier this year. Those successes were pivotal in her emergence as one of the best up-and-coming talents in women’s tennis. It has also brought a greater level of pressure, which is something the teenager has admitted to struggling with.
Speaking ahead of her match against Zhu Lin at the China Open, Andreeva said: “I’m trying to really focus on enjoying the game more. After I won those titles, I started to feel more pressure and more expectations.
“I’m working on being positive, having a good mindset and just trying to enjoy the game, and do whatever I want to do on court without overthinking.
“After I won those two titles, I felt like people were expecting me to win every tournament I play, which I think we all knew would be impossible, but I think that is an experience I had to go through.
“You have to go through this, take the positives out of that, try to improve and learn from your mistakes. Every day I try to learn, and I get older, maybe a little bit wiser, maybe a little bit smarter.”
Andreeva could benefit from reaching out to Emma Raducanu, who was faced with a completely different level of pressure following her US Open triumph in 2021.
The young Brit was hailed as the country’s great hope after defying the odds to win her first Grand Slam title as a teenager. She has failed to replicate that success in the years since due to a string of injuries and a high turnover of coaching staff.
Raducanu was asked if she had any wise words for Andreeva during this year’s Miami Open, but she insisted the Russian was doing just fine.
“I don’t have any advice to give to her,” said Raducanu. “She is doing amazing and it’s nice to see her doing well and maintaining her level. That’s something I didn’t necessarily do, so to see her doing that and winning is great to see.”
Andreeva will be hoping to add to her tally of WTA titles by winning the China Open, having received a first-round bye. A deep run at the tournament will help her to gain crucial ranking points ahead of next year’s Australian Open.
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