(VIDEO) “I just needed a couple of days before I forgave her” – Mirra Andreeva recalls hilarious prank by Jabeur

Mirra Andreeva spoke about the prank Ons Jabeur played on her recently at the Madrid Open, although she admitted she’s already forgiven her. The world No. 7 found herself at the centre of a funny moment in the days leading up to the start of the tournament, when the Tunisian made her believe she was “crying” over Andreeva’s words in a press conference.

Jabeur had her fans bursting into laughter with a hilarious prank on the teenage sensation during a segment of her new social media series, What’s Going Ons. The Tunisian teamed up with Daria Kasatkina to trick Andreeva into thinking Jabeur was crying because the 17-year-old had supposedly said, “She was my idol” when asked about Jabeur in an interview.

During the prank, a member of the production team told Andreeva that Jabeur was crying due to her recent comments. The teen was quickly brought to Jabeur, who was “sobbing” in a chair while Daria Kasatkina—one of Andreeva’s closest friends on the Tour—pretended to console her. “Am I still your idol or not?” Jabeur asked through fake tears as Andreeva approached. “Of course, you’re still my idol,” a visibly nervous Andreeva replied—before the three-time Grand Slam runner-up burst out laughing and confessed it was all a joke.

The hilarious clip went viral on social media and was one of the topics Andreeva addressed before her Rome debut. During a press conference, a journalist asked whether she had forgiven former world No. 2 Jabeur. “Yes I had to, you know, she’s been super nice to me after that, so i didn’t really have a choice, had to forgive her because otherwise i would feel bad after. So I just needed a couple of day before I forgave her, but we are on good terms now,”

“Well, i didn’t see through there because she covered her fase, but ‘Dasha’ Kasatkina sitting right next ot her and her fase, like, she was almost laughing, si was not sure if that was for real,” the 18-year-old Russian added. With a smile. “But you know, after that she started really, you know, moving her body and making it seem like she crying, i was like ‘Oh my god! Ok’, and then after that, she started to scream ‘yeah, i got you’. So after that it was ‘meeh’.”

Andreeva arrives at the Italian Open in good spirits after reaching the quarterfinals in Madrid, where she eventually lost to finalist Coco Gauff. The world No. 7 begins her Rome campaign against Colombian Emiliana Arango.