Mirra Andreeva at Australian Open: Coach Conchita Martinez made me more fearless; I made her funnier

A year removed from her breakout performance at the Australian Open, Mirra Andreeva may be more famous but she hasn’t lost her sense of humor.

The No. 14 seed had the John Cain Arena crowd in stitches when discussing coach Conchita Martinez, a former Wimbledon champion who began working with Andreeva last spring.

“She’s an OK coach,” she teased after navigating rainy conditions and a roof closure to score a 6-3, 6-3 win over Marie Bouzkova, ironically another former pupil of Martinez. “Oh my god, I’m in trouble guys!”

Now she has a better sense of humor with me. Before, I would say it was not so good. It was ok. But now when she’s with me, everyone’s laughing at her jokes—thanks to me! Mirra Andreeva on coach Conchita Martinez

Andreeva won the Australian Open junior title as a 15-year-old in 2023 and stormed to the second week of the women’s draw the following year, stunning former world No. 2 Ons Jabeur with the loss of just two games en route.

Read more: Mirra Andreeva blends smart tennis with madcap persona to great success

Under Martinez, she continued her meteoric rise with a run to the semifinals at Roland Garros, where she upset Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight. But Andreeva feels she’s improved by leaps and bounds in the year since their partnership began.

“With her, I kind of became closer to fearless,” Andreeva explained on court. “For example, before I would never go to play a volley on match point. Here, I decided, ‘Why not?’ Against Marie, I was so tired and she was putting every ball back. I was like, ‘Come on, what is this?’

“So, I decided to just go in front and try to finish by myself. I thought, ‘Well, I’m serving, so if it doesn’t work, I’ll try to have another chance.’ I just decided to go for it and it worked.”

Asked if Martinez has learned anything from her young charge, Andreeva didn’t miss a beat.

“Now she has a better sense of humor with me,” proclaimed the teenager, who could face Sabalenka again in the fourth round. “Before, I would say it was not so good. It was ok. But now when she’s with me, everyone’s laughing at her jokes—thanks to me!”

But before she can challenge the two-time defending champion, Andreeva will need to get past a second round against either Moyuka Uchijima or Magda Linette.