Mirra Andreeva wasn’t happy after she lost to Katerina Siniakova at Indian Wells.
The defending champion was seen shouting obscenities as she walked off the court.
Andreeva was unhappy about something and made sure the crowd knew about it.
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Former world number one Kim Clijsters has now given her verdict on Andreeva’s post-match meltdown.
Kim Clijsters defends Mirra Andreeva after Indian Wells outburst
During the latest episode of ‘Love All‘, Clijsters shared her thoughts.
“At times we forget that right, that she’s only 18, and she’s going through this whole process for the first time,” she said.
“We talk about it with [Aryna] Sabalenka, we love seeing the emotions, there are people that say it’s too much at times, but I love seeing the emotions!
“Do I think it’s always the best for them? No, I don’t think it always helps their tennis in the best way, but I do think it’s fun to watch, where you see players maybe get mad at their team, get annoyed with themselves, sighing, rolling their eyes, whatever it is, it’s fun to see those emotions.
“But when it gets to a point, I think with [Mirra] Andreeva, you can see her at times crying on court, it’s hard to get that out of your head and really just focus on what you have to do.
“I hope for her, and I know Conchita [Martinez] has been working with her for a long time, and working on the mental side of that, too, is to just get her to play and stay in the moment, and that’s what it all comes down to.
“We all have those negative thoughts in our heads, but as you get older, you’re just a little bit better at dealing with the negative thoughts and not letting them take over.”
Clijsters went on to praise Andreeva for the way she bounced back from the incident to pick up a win in doubles alongside Victoria Mboko.
“But good for her, to be able to go out a couple of hours later and play, kind of leave the site in Indian Wells and go back to the hotel with somewhat of a good feeling, knowing that you’ve been able to still enjoy your time on court, because that’s always important as well,” she said.
Mirra Andreeva at Indian Wells in 2026
| Day | Match | Opponent(s) | Result | Score |
| Monday, March 9 | Doubles 2R | Jelena Ostapenko/Hailey Baptiste | WIN | 7-6, 3-6, 11-9 |
| Monday, March 9 | Singles 3R | Katerina Siniakova | LOSS | 6-4, 6-7, 3-6 |
| Saturday, March 7 | Singles 2R | Solana Sierra | WIN | 6-0, 6-0 |
| Friday, March 6 | Doubles 1R | Elise Mertens/Zhang Shuai | WIN | 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 |
“There’s nothing worse than when you get back to the hotel room, and you’re by yourself, and you have that feeling of losing the match. I played horribly, and my attitude wasn’t great.
“That’s a horrible feeling when you sit there by yourself, and you have to try and face your team.
“But good for her, that she was able to have her doubles and hopefully leave the courts on a high note.”
Andreeva and Mboko will now play Aleksandra Krunic and Anna Danilina in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 11.
What did Mirra Andreeva say about her meltdown?
Unsurprisingly, Andreeva was asked about the incident during her post-match press conference.
“There were a lot of emotions that I was going through after the loss,” she said.
“But of course I’m not really proud of how I managed it. I’m not really proud of how I handled it in the end.
“Those are the things that I really need to work on soon. I don’t know. Not in the future, but whenever I get the chance.
“Yeah, I hope that I can work on it and I get better in that, as well.”
She claimed her anger wasn’t directed towards anyone in particular.
“It was to myself, to everyone, basically,” said Andreeva.
“After the loss, I just get very angry, so I say those things sometimes to myself.
“I mean, first to myself, of course, but then, yeah, it was just anger coming out, just a lot of emotions.
“Not really towards anyone.”
Andreeva will hope to keep her emotions in check when she returns to singles action at next week’s Miami Open.
