"She’s not going to be the next Ash Barty": Mirra Andreeva says Emerson Jones should focus on being herself amid burden of expectation

Mirra Andreeva opened her 2026 season with a hard-earned win at the Brisbane International, admitting it was “never easy” to begin a new year but taking confidence from starting on a positive note.

Andreeva took down Olivia Gadecki 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 and now faces Linda Noskova tomorrow for a spot in the Quarter-Finals. After a poor end to 2025 after such a bright start, she was just glad to get the win.

“It’s never easy to start the season, but I’m just happy that I got the win today,” Andreeva said after overcoming a tough challenge from Olivia. “It was not an easy match to play against her. She’s a tough opponent to face, so I’m just happy to get the win and to start the season on a good note.”

The match itself proved to be a tale of momentum shifts, with Andreeva forced to problem-solve after a difficult opening set. She acknowledged that her opponent’s aggression initially put her under serious pressure.

“In the beginning I felt like she was going for the shots,” Andreeva explained. “She was playing very aggressive and pushing me to the limits. I didn’t play for a long time, so I struggled with that. I just felt like she was playing better than me.”

A brief break away from the court helped her reset mentally and tactically. “I went on a toilet break, tried to kind of break the rhythm, stay calm and just try to play my game,” she said. “Then, point by point, I just tried to stay in the match.”

From there, Andreeva gradually took control, committing to an aggressive mindset of her own and denying her opponent time on the ball. “In the end it went my way, and I just carried on trying to play aggressive and not give her time to do whatever she wants on the court,” she said.

Despite still being in the early stages of her career, Andreeva already finds herself discussed as an established figure near the top of the women’s game. Asked about the key to her early success, she pointed not to confidence, but to a period of doubt that ultimately freed her expectations.

“I can say that after I won the title in Dubai — and actually probably before the title — I was feeling very down,” she admitted. “I was feeling like this was obviously not going to be the tournament that I was going to win.”

Ironically, that lack of expectation proved liberating. “By me not expecting much from myself, I started to play well,” she said. “Then I started to believe in myself, and that’s how I won the tournament.”

Since then, Andreeva has tried to carry that same mindset forward, accepting that consistency at the very top is not guaranteed. “Until the end of the year, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t,” she said. “That’s why I didn’t win every tournament that I played. I’m just trying to play with the mindset of whatever I had in those tournaments that I won. I think maybe that’s the key — I have no idea. I’m not experienced enough to say.”

With success has come expectation, and Andreeva acknowledged that outside pressure became difficult to manage at times, particularly after her breakthrough wins.

“Especially after I won two tournaments, I felt like people would expect me to win Miami, then Madrid and Rome,” she said. “I was like, that’s basically almost not possible. People were expecting me to win basically every tournament that I would play. That was not easy.”

Last season became a learning curve in handling that scrutiny. “I learned a lot about how to deal with the pressure, how not to pay attention to what people say,” Andreeva explained. “I was talking a lot about how I felt with my team. Now I feel like I know more about this. If that happens this year, I certainly know what to do with it.”

That experience shaped her advice for young Australian prospect Emerson Jones, who has already been burdened with comparisons to former world No.1 Ash Barty.

“There are going to be a lot of people who will say, ‘You’re going to be the next Sharapova’ or ‘the next Ash Barty’,” Andreeva said. “You just have to focus on the fact that you are who you are. You have your own career and your own path.”

She was clear that comparisons rarely serve young players well. “I’m Mirra Andreeva. She’s Emerson Jones,” she said. “She’s not going to be the next Ash Barty. Ash Barty stopped her career — she’s not playing anymore. Emerson is going to have her own career, and she should focus on making her own path in tennis.”

Having practised with Jones during the week, Andreeva also offered insight into her game, praising her aggression and power despite her slight frame. “She’s trying to be very aggressive. She hits hard,” Andreeva said. “She’s very thin and very small, but she hits pretty hard. She’s already playing well and winning matches on the WTA circuit.”

Still, she was careful not to place unnecessary expectations on the young Australian. “I think she’s going to be a great player, probably,” Andreeva said. “But I don’t want to put pressure on her. Right now she’s very excited to play matches and compete, and I think that’s going to suit her well.”

Turning the focus back to herself, Andreeva addressed the narrative that Grand Slam titles are the only true measure of success. While she admitted she shares some of that ambition, her outlook has evolved. “For some people, a successful career is staying healthy or enjoying every match,” she said. “For someone else, if I don’t win 10 Grand Slams, I’m a failure.”

She acknowledged the influence of the sport’s greatest champions. “I’ve always wanted to be like Roger, like Serena, like Rafa,” Andreeva said. “I still do. I want to be the best player in the world.”

But entering the new season, she is trying to strike a healthier balance. “If I just try to give my best in every match and at the same time enjoy the moment, then I’ll just play and see what life brings me,” she said. “I’m not going to put so much pressure on myself thinking that I have to win a Grand Slam to be a successful player.”

It’s a mindset she plans to carry through the year — and reassess later. “I decided to think like that this year and see where that brings me,” Andreeva added. “Then we’ll talk about that next year, I guess.”