MUTUA MADRID OPEN

April 28, 2026

Mirra Andreeva

Press Conference

M. ANDREEVA/L. Fernandez

7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: First Madrid semifinal. Talk us through that match and how it feels to be in the semifinals.

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Yes, very excited about the result. Super happy with the way I played today. Happy that I stayed composed. I saved a lot of break points, set points as well. So super happy with the win and very excited for tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Compared to yesterday, obviously you were a little bit harsh on yourself on the bench. I think you used the phrase, I'm not a champion. I'm curious, after reflecting on yesterday's match, did it kind of light a fire coming into today?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, kind of in a way, yes, because obviously I wanted to prove myself wrong. I kind of did yesterday, but for some reason yesterday I was, even after I won, I was pretty negative to myself that I, you know, got to that situation.

Today I just tried to turn things around and not let that happen again. Yeah, I felt like I did a better job today. Still, obviously at some points I was pretty emotional as well. But I do feel like it's a tennis match, and sometimes obviously something can happen. The most important is how you handle it, and how you reset for the next point. I feel like today it was much better than yesterday.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the streak you had last year when you won those back-to-back titles. Do you remember what it felt like to be playing tennis then, how easy, you know, when you were just winning, piling up win after win after win? What was that like? Do you imagine getting to that point again, or do you think about it in practice trying to imitate it?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, obviously I thought about that a lot last year, this year as well. But I can say that it's kind of not easy, but when you have a lot of confidence, then at some points you just don't feel as much pressure, and you just, you know, play your game, play aggressive all of the time, like throughout the whole match.

I feel like that was what was happening last year when I was winning those tournaments. I feel like, obviously after that, a little bit of pressure, a little bit of expectations as well, and then you're not so confident in your game anymore. It takes time to feel that again and takes time to feel confident in your game and yourself.

I'm trying not to think about it because, obviously those are amazing results, but I mean, it happened and, you know, kind of everyone says, let the past stay in the past. I'm just trying not to think about it. I try to improve on different aspects and, you know, try to just not bring that back, but to create something new.

Q. Tomorrow you'll turn 19 and we'll all say, "happy birthday" to you. Could you tell a little bit how, what feelings do you have now because of the birthday, how are you changing in your feelings as a personality, as an athlete, and in what ways do you want to change and in what ways you don't want to change; and what are you dreaming about?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Okay, obviously I'm very excited for tomorrow, but at the same time I caught myself being a little bit sad. Because I don't want to be old, and I don't want to grow up. I want to just stay 18 and be a kid all the time.

I feel like, obviously lately, I just feel like time is going so fast, and I'm already going to turn 19. I don't know. I just, I'm excited, but at the same time I'm sad. So that's what I feel.

I don't feel like I'm changing as a person very much. I feel like, maybe it's going to sound weird, but I kind of became more calm outside of the court. For example, before I would like to, even after matches, I would want to spend some time with my family to talk a lot or to do something together. Now all I want to do is to come back to the room and be alone and just do something with myself, I don't know, read a book, watch TV series, just be on my phone, and I don't want to talk to people. So maybe that's how I'm changing. Other than that, I feel like I'm still the same Mirra that was here a couple of years ago and, yeah, for now I don't notice a lot of changes.

Q. Your dream?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: The dream? For now I want a pair of high heels. That's going to be it (laughing).

Q. Which shot, maybe sequence of shots today or something else in the game do you consider like the most important to stay in the game, at some points with a break point down and stuff like this? Because sometimes at some points it looked like you found, for example, your forehand, which is, well, not so usual.

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, I think obviously when you are facing break points it's important to really try and go for the first serve to maybe try and just get the free point. But when that doesn't happen, obviously I try to build the point from the baseline.

Today I really felt like I can create a lot of damage for my forehand. For some reason today it just felt like my forehand was more dangerous. I just was trying to use that today, and I feel like it worked very well, after some games in the first set.

So, yeah, I mean, I'm trying to use all of my shots, but sometimes there are days when I feel one shot better than the other. Sometimes I just try to use that and also adjust my game to that.

Q. I wanted to ask a more general question about player friendships on tour, since you're already great friends with Dasha Kasatkina, for example. Sometimes you see other players more than maybe your family, I don't know about you, but you travel together all the time. So can you maybe, from a mental health point of view, like how important is it to have these good connections with other players, since they're also competitors, but how is, are there boundaries to like how deep a friendship can go?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, I do think all of that is very individual and personal. I know that certain players on tour don't have a lot of friends and prefer to stay with their team and go to the hotel straight away.

But I'm the person that, I was always trying and wanting to have a couple of friends on tour. Now I feel like I have some people that I can really share my feelings, I can talk about anything that I want. I feel like it's the same from their side as well.

For me personally I feel like it's important to have someone that also goes through that and understands what you're going through. Because, obviously your family can say, Yeah, we get it, we've been traveling with you the whole time. But they never played. They don't know what you're going through on the court during the match. Sometimes players that are also playing, and they understand you better.

So for me I think it depends on the person. So whatever the person you are, you just feel what you need. Me, I feel like, you know, a couple of good friends, not going to bother.