“I’m learning to accept defeats”: Mirra Andreeva resets mindset before Wuhan challenge

Mirra Andreeva arrives at the Wuhan Open following a surprising elimination in the Round of 16 at the China Open. The 18-year-old has lost momentum; despite holding the World No. 5 spot in the WTA Ranking, she still seems far from consistently reaching semifinals and finals like names such as Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, and Anisimova.

The teenager won two WTA 1000 titles earlier in the season, but since then, she hasn't even reached the semifinals in any of the subsequent 11 tournaments she has played. The most recent disappointment was in Beijing, where she fell to the surprising qualifier Sonay Kartal in three sets.

“Obviously, it’s not easy to lose, and I don’t think a lot of people like to lose,” said Andreeva in her press conference before the Wuhan Open. “When I look back in my season, I think that my season was not bad, starting from the beginning of the year. So honestly, I just tried to stick to the positive moments that I’ve had on the court.”

The Russian player downplayed the losses and asserted that she tries to focus on the positive aspects of her game. “You cannot win every match that you play. You cannot win every tournament that you play. So it’s kind of a normal thing to lose and obviously sometimes when you’re super close to win the match, it hurts a little bit more,” she added. “It takes a little bit more time to kind of step back and just forget about that. “It’s just life. It’s just how tennis works. And with time, I learned how to kind of accept it and move on from tough losses.”

The Russian insisted that her team has been vital in helping her deal with her emotions after the defeats. Without a doubt, expectations have been high for the teenager, who seems to have stalled in her game in recent months. “I try to be open about everything that I feel, and I feel like it’s important to talk about,” she stated. “So in the beginning, right after, when I started to feel it (pressure), I had a little bit of struggle to really open up and to say all the things that I feel.”

Andreeva is still focused on her final challenges of the year, with the WTA 1000 Wuhan, then the WTA 500 Ningbo Open, and finally the WTA Finals—if she manages to secure classification, as she currently sits 7th among the eight principal stars who will participate in the event.

“It took some time for me to finally say the things that I actually feel. And I opened up to my psychologist, to Conchita [Martínez], to my team. They all know what I’m going through, what I’m feeling, and they were just trying to help me go through that."

“We were talking a lot. I was looking at myself as well. So yeah, all the things together, I guess, and a lot of work with so far. So I just hope that soon, it’s gonna pay off a little bit better, and we’ll see if it does.”

The World No. 5 also took time to joke, as is customary in her interviews and press conferences. Andreeva admitted that she has joined the Labubu craze—following Naomi Osaka, a known fan of the brand who popularized them with her custom Labubu dolls that paid tribute to great tennis players at the last US Open.

With the switch to the Asian swing, Mirra Andreeva has been welcomed warmly by Chinese fans, who, as is custom, have brought gifts for the players, including several Labubu dolls for the 18-year-old star. “Honestly, I didn’t have a Labubu before going to Beijing, so I’m just happy that now I have five,” she added.

“So I also had to give [one] to Conchita too, which I’m not really happy about, but it’s okay. I have to share. Sharing is sharing is fine!”