Mirra Andreeva Credits Mental Work for Roland Garros Title

History was made today on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva won her first Grand Slam title against qualifier Maja Chwalinska in a dominant straight-sets victory: 6-3, 6-2. Andreeva's first Major title comes at 19 years old, officially ushering in a new era of promising young players.

Andreeva dropped her very first set of the tournament, and never looked back. Her incredible play was the only thing that could withstand the weather, upsets, and drama that wreaked havoc in Paris over the past two weeks.

Andreeva often half-jokingly thanks herself after winning titles, but she credited her team for the victory. Her coach, Conchita Martínez, as well as her sports psychologist, helped her break through.

Positive Visualization

Andreeva is known for her bubbly personality off the court and her fiery alter ego on the court. When asked if she felt as she had imagined she would after winning a Grand Slam, Andreeva discussed her practice of positive visualizations. "I'll be honest," said Andreeva. "I've done a lot of visualizations before. Not just this tournament, but, you know, I've had dreams.

"I've had a lot of thoughts on how it's going to happen, if it's going to happen, when it's going to happen, and where. So, it's kind of that the feeling in real life is so much better, obviously, than in your dreams, and it just feels amazing looking at this trophy and realizing that this is actually true, and I can call myself a grand slam champion, I guess.

Sports Psychologist

Andreeva was asked about the role her sports psychologist played in her rise. The 19-year-old acknowledged that she did a better job of handling her nerves over the past two weeks, but there were some tricky moments.

As for her psychologist, Andreeva said, "She gave me a lot of advice and a lot of techniques that I could try and use on the court to help myself to experience all of these things a little bit better and easier, and that's why I think that she deserves a lot of credit for this."

Coach Conchita Martínez

Andreeva's coach won Wimbledon in 1994 and made the 2000 French Open final. When asked about her coach, Andreeva said, "For me, of course, it's very, very special to share a first Grand Slam trophy with her. We've done a lot of work together on the court and off the court."

Andreeva added, "We've also been through so many good moments, and some bad moments, especially at the end of last year. So it's very, very nice to share something like this with her and see how happy she is, and also she told me that you know she's very proud of me, and to hear those words from her is very, very special to me.

Andreeva will now move to 6th in the WTA live rankings. Roland Garros concludes with the men's singles final on June 7. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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