Mirra Andreeva Gets Real About ‘Impossible’ Expectations After Brisbane Win

Tennis fans can be brutal. A player wins one tournament, and suddenly, they’re the second coming of Serena Williams. Win two, and if they don’t sweep every Grand Slam that year, they’re “slumping.” It’s a ridiculous cycle, and at just 18 years old, Mirra Andreeva is already fed up with it.

Fresh off a gritty opening-round win at the 2026 Brisbane International, the World No.9 opened up about the mental toll of carrying the “next big thing” label. After a standout 2025 season where she snagged WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, the hype train went off the rails. Andreeva said to the reporters:

I felt pressure from a lot of people, especially after winning the two tournaments in Dubai and Indian Wells. I felt like people expected me to win in Miami, and then they expected me to win in Madrid and Rome. And I thought that was practically impossible…Because I talked a lot about how I felt with my team, and now I feel like I know more about this. I learned a lot from last year, and if that happens again this year, I definitely know what to do about it.

Andreeva’s start to the 2026 season wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. She had to battle back from a set down to defeat Olivia Gadecki 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. It was a rusty start, sure, but she got the job done. However, it was her post-match comments that are arguably more interesting than the scoreline.

Expecting teenagers to dominate every week after an early hot streak sets them up for inevitable burnout. Andreeva acknowledged that the pressure to win everything felt “not easy,” but she appears to have developed the ability to block out external expectations.

Mirra Andreeva puts down a couple of comparisons

Speaking of unfair pressure, Mirra Andreeva also had some sage advice for Australian prospect Emerson Jones. Because Jones is young, talented, and Australian, the media has naturally decided she must be the next Ash Barty.

Andreeva, having lived through the “next Maria Sharapova” comparisons herself, wasn’t having it. The young Russian has faced this question several times about achieving something similar to what the five-time Grand Slam champion has accomplished. Sharapova retired from professional tennis in 2020. She said:

She plays very well for being so young, and I think if I had the opportunity to tell her something, I might tell her not to focus on what people say, because there will be a lot of people who will tell her, ‘You’re going to be the next Sharapova or the next Ash Barty’. You just have to focus on being who you are, on having your own career and your own path. I’m Mirra Andreeva. She’s Emerson Jones. She’s not going to be the next Ash Barty, because Ash Barty has retired.

Meanwhile, Barty retired from professional tennis in 2022, right after winning the Australian Open. She became the first tennis star since Justine Henin in 2008 to retire as World No.1.

What’s next for Mirra Andreeva?

With the first-round jitters out of the way, Mirra Andreeva is looking to go deep in Brisbane as she preps for the Australian Open. She’s set to face Linda Noskova in the third round, hoping to build on the momentum from her three-set comeback.

She’s also adjusting her definition of success. Instead of obsessing over Grand Slam trophies as the only metric of worth, she’s trying to stay grounded.

She reached two Grand Slam semifinals in 2025, at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. With a breakthrough year under her belt, she would hope to go at least one step further in one of the Grand Slams this year.

Also Read: Ex-ATP Pro Backs Alexander Zverev to Find a Solution to Ending His Grand Slam Drought

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