Nearly a yr into their partnership, Mirra Andreeva and coach Conchita Martinez have had nice success. In February, the seventeen-year-old grew to become the youngest WTA 1000 champion in Dubai. Now, on the 2025 BNP Paribas Open, the match’s ninth seed displays on how their journey collectively started.
Martinez could also be a well-known identify to longtime girls’s tennis followers, however for the younger Russian, it was simply that—a reputation she acknowledged reasonably than a face she may instantly place. Reflecting on their considerably awkward first encounters, Andreeva admitted to the press at Indian Wells, “I just saw one woman always looking at me, smiling, saying ‘hi.’ I’m like, okay, who is that? Why is she so friendly, why is she saying ‘hi?’” She continued, “Of course, I knew who Conchita Martínez was, but if I would see her just outside on the streets, I wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, that’s Conchita Martinez.’”
As soon as they have been formally launched, their connection developed effortlessly. Andreeva recalled, “Since the first tournament that we had together, I just felt like I knew her for so long. It felt super natural to be on the court with her and off.”
As their partnership grew, {the teenager} took a deeper curiosity in her 52-year-old mentor’s completed profession, even watching outdated footage of Martinez’s 1994 Wimbledon triumph. She shared with the media, “When I told her [I watched the final], she got a little bit red. I think she was happy that I watched the final. I watched some more matches of her playing when she lost in the semifinal in some other slam, and she was like, ‘Oh, no, don’t watch that match, no.’ But I did anyway.”
The rising star stays optimistic about their partnership, telling the press, “It’s very special for me to work with her, and I hope there are going to be many years for our relationship.”
Andreeva, who obtained a first-round bye, is ready to face Varvara Gracheva on Friday on the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
