Conchita Martinez has done an outstanding job in coaching Mirra Andreeva, with yesterday marking a culmination of years of hard work.
The Spaniard, who won a sole Grand Slam title herself as a player, joined the 19-year-old’s coaching team in 2024 with the intention of fulfilling her limitless potential.
After all, people have been predicting huge things for this teenage sensation ever since she burst onto the scene at just 15 years of age. The pressure on her shoulders has been monumental.
If this Roland Garros title does anything, it will hopefully ease some of that burden, and in turn create a calmer, less emotionally volatile version of Mirra Andreeva.
We have seen glimpses of this new outlook for her over the past two weeks, but Martinez still insists that she is not always easy to deal with.
Conchita Martinez on the difficulties of working with Mirra Andreeva
Speaking in her press conference after the final, one reporter relayed Andreeva’s words to her coach about being difficult to deal with at times.
Martinez was asked to expand on this, to which she claimed: “She’s not [great to work with]. Sometimes she’s not. I’m not gonna lie to you.
How many Grand Slams does Mirra Andreeva win in her career? 🏆
“I mean, she’s super nice girl, you know, outside of the court or off, you know, sometimes in practice, she can be a little bit difficult, but you know, when she’s open to listen, she’s open to, you know, breathe and, you know, work with her emotions, also in practice, because if you are in practice, how is it going to work, when you play a match?
“So, yeah, there are days where it’s difficult.”
She then went into specifics, adding: “Well, her attitude, her attitude is difficult, you know. You tell her something, and maybe she’s not open to listening and stuff like that.
“Yeah, that is a little bit difficult, because I mean, you know, when she works hard and when she listens, and she does everything, you know, she has no limits, so the sky is the limit.”
Elsewhere, Andreeva has revealed what Martinez said to her right after the final.
Conchita Martinez breaks her own record with Mirra Andreeva
It is a testament to Martinez’s phenomenal coaching skills that, by leading Andreeva to the Roland Garros title, she actually broke her own record.
After all, she became the first female-coached Grand Slam champion since Garbine Muguruza did so at Wimbledon back in 2017.
Rather interestingly, it was Martinez who coached her to that triumph.
The 54-year-old is one of very few female coaches present on the ATP or WTA Tours, but her continued success could force a change in the coming years.
