Mirra Andreeva continued her unusual tradition by thanking herself as she lifted her maiden Grand Slam trophy at the French Open. The teenager made a habit of giving herself credit for her big wins last year, including her first WTA 1000 title in Dubai. She did the same a few weeks later in Indian Wells. Now, more than a year later, she thanked herself again as she lifted the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen.
“Of course, first of all, congrats to Maya for this amazing three weeks, passing through qualies, winning so many matches, beating so many great players,” the newly-crowned champion said.
“Congrats to your team as well, you guys have done an amazing job, amazing work. You’re a very tricky opponent. I wouldn’t want to play against you one more time! So I wish you the best of luck for the rest of the season, and I hope we play many, many more finals together in the future.”
Andreeva also made sure to pay tribute to everyone in her support camp, including her coach, Conchita Martinez, her parents, and her psychologist. She also thanked the tournament director, ball kids, and staff – and even addressed the crowd in French, before turning the attention to herself.
“I’m sorry if it’s long, but I have to say something. Last but not least, I also want to thank myself for…” she started, before laughing as the fans cheered her. “I want to thank myself for believing in myself, always giving my 100 per cent, even when it’s tough.
“Trying every day to be better as a person and as a player, believing that I can do this, fighting so many demons inside of me. Only I know how tough it was for me, and how nervous I was for these two weeks. So, also, thanks to myself for working so hard and giving my best.”
After lifting her first Grand Slam title, Andreeva will now jump to No. 6 in the world, one place off her career high. She has also bagged £2.4million (€2.8million) in prize money.