Serena Williams' ex-coach compares Mirra Andreeva to Maria Sharapova, makes bold prediction about her Slam tally amid Indian Wells success
Rick Macci, the former coach of Serena Williams, praised 17-year-old Russian tennis star Mirra Andreeva ahead of her Indian Wells final against top seed Aryna Sabalenka at the BNP Paribas Open. Macci likened Andreeva's mental toughness to that of former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova and predicted that the teenager would have Grand Slam success in the future.
After her initial WTA 1000 victory at the Dubai Tennis Championships in the early season, the young player arrived at Indian Wells as the ninth seed. The Russian had a bye in the first round before defeating Varvara Gracheva, 22nd seed Clara Tauson, seventh seed Elena Rybakina, 23rd seed Elina Svitolina, and second seed Iga Swiatek en route to the final.
Posting on X on Sunday, March 16, Macci equated Andreeva's mental strength to ex-World No. 1 Maria Sharapova, stating that Andreeva possesses the same "bubble" mindset.
"Mentally she[Mirra Andreeva] is in a bubble like Sharapova was. Mentally cut and uses same Russian cloth of right here right now," Macci wrote.
Macci further predicted that Andreeva could become a double-digit Grand Slam champion and overtake other Russian legends to become the "cream of the crop."
"Andreeva barring injury will be a double digit Slam Champion and has the potential to be the Cream of the Crop of any Russian who got to the Top," he added.
Andreeva defeated World No. 1 Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final, claiming her third singles title and second back-to-back WTA 1000 title. But the Russian's Indian Wells doubles stint didn't work as intended. She and her partner, Diana Shnaider, were defeated by Laura Siegemund and Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-7(4), 6-3, 4-10 in the first round.
Mirra Andreeva jokes about avoiding Aryna Sabalenka’s ‘bullets’ following Indian Wells victory
Mirra Andreeva delivered a comedic moment in her victory speech after she won the Indian Wells title over Aryna Sabalenka. In addressing the crowd, Andreeva joked that she was thanking herself first before playfully admitting to running like a rabbit throughout the match to keep up with Sabalenka's powerful shots, which she likened to "bullets."
"Last but not least, I’d like to thank myself. I would like to thank myself for fighting til the end and for always believing in the end. For never quitting, I tried to run like a rabbit today because Aryna, she's been sending bullets and it was really had to just keep up, so I just tried my best. That's why, I want to thank myself because I think that I played a little part also. So, thank you, everyone," Andreeva said.
Mirra Andreeva will be gunning for a three-peat in her first appearance at the Miami Open, where she is seeded 11th. Andreeva has been given a bye to the second round where she will play either Veronika Kudermetova or Wang Xinyu on Thursday, March 20.