This is how Andreeva psyches herself up before matches

Every participant on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz has a singular pre-match routine.

And on the most recent episode of Behind the CurtainWorld No. 8 Mirra Andreeva gave us a glimpse into hers.

The 18-year-old makes use of the strategy of constructive visualization, closing her eyes and fantasizing that she’s Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, hitting winners from all angles of the courtroom.

“They fight for every point, and they hit those amazing shots that go into highlight videos,” she stated of the imagery that she imagines. “I try to go on court with this kind of mindset.”

Once she will get on courtroom, as intensely centered as she is, she loosens up and relaxes by singing a “silly” track to herself all through the match.

One of the examples she gave was Billy Joel’s Uptown Girlthough it type of appeared like she was signing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ and combined up the phrases. (We’ll must make clear this the subsequent time we communicate along with her.)

We do know that Andreeva likes to sing, as evidenced by her surrender of Happy Birthday last week in celebration of her coach, Conchita Martinez.

Both her pre-match and match rituals definitely appear to be working late. Andreeva received her second title of the season in Linz earlier this month, after which adopted that up with a run to the semi-finals in Stuttgart. She defeated Iga Swiatek in three units within the latter event.

She continued her sturdy Clay-Court swing on Thursday, defeating World No. 78 Panna Udvardy 7-5, 6-2 within the second spherical of the Mutua Madrid Open. Next up will likely be Dalma Galfi, who upset twenty second seed Anna Kalinskaya. Their third-round match on Saturday will likely be their first profession assembly.

For a deeper dive into Andreeva’s future aspirations, her expertise rising up on courtroom and how a lot her household means to her, try the complete episode beneath.