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Mirra Andreeva
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NEED TO KNOW
- At age 19, Mirra Andreeva became the youngest French Open winner since Monica Seles
- She reveals to PEOPLE what she told her parents about how long she'll remain on tour
- The tennis star credits coach Conchita Martínez for helping her handle pressure and improve her mindset on court
Mirra Andreeva has big plans for her tennis career.
On Friday, June 6, the tennis wunderkind, 19, became the youngest French Open winner since Monica Seles nearly three decades ago. She defeated Poland’s Maja Chwalińska in straight sets to take home her first Grand Slam title, and in doing so, joined a prestigious list of teenage major champions that includes Seles, Serena Williams, Steffi Graf and more.
With many years of tennis ahead of her, Andreeva tells PEOPLE, “I remember I was talking to my parents, I said, ‘Well, I'm going to be playing until I'm 38.’ “
She clarifies that although she doesn’t know if 38 is set in stone, “I'm still very young and I feel like there are so many years of tennis in my life in the future.”
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Mirra Andreeva in 2023
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Andreeva had her breakthrough on the professional circuit in 2023, when she reached the third round of the French Open at age 16. She entered the world’s top 10 in 2025 after winning a prestigious WTA 1000 title in Dubai, but three years since establishing herself as a tour mainstay, she had yet to find Grand Slam success.
“At the beginning it was great. You have so much attention, everyone starts to follow you, everyone starts to talk about you,” she says. “But then, when the time is coming when you have to defend the title or the points … obviously you just start to overthink more.”
It was “hard” for her to take her mind off expectations put on her, and she admits, “Sometimes it does get to you.”
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Mirra Andreeva at the 2026 Madrid Open
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A month prior to her victory at Roland-Garros, the Russian-born tennis star blew a 5-1 lead in the third set during the fourth round of the Madrid Open. She could be heard talking to her coach Conchita Martínez courtside, repeating, “I’m not a champion. I will lose.”
“It was not the greatest feeling, I’ll be honest,” Andreeva says. “Now I feel like, whatever happened, it was all worth it.”
Over the years, she has learned to handle pressure by shutting out all the noise and focusing on what she has to do on court. Part of her success can be attributed to Martínez, who joined her team in 2024.
In addition to their six titles together, Martínez has made her “much more positive” and changed her on-court superstitions.
“Conchita is a very special person for me,” she says. “Since the first day that we started working together … it was so easy for me to open up and just tell her what I've been through.”
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Mirra Andreeva and Conchita Martínez
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Although she can now say “by the way, I’m a Grand Slam champion,” Andreeva thinks there’s a long way to go before reaching the threat level of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka.
“For example, you see, ‘Okay, I play against Carlos Alcaraz.’ Obviously people are just going to play the best. They know they have nothing to lose,” she explains. “I still feel like there's a long way to go to feel that on the court like I'm being hunted.”
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