World No. 7 Mirra Andreeva spoke about her childhood.
When asked about a video from when she was 10, where she stated her ambition to win all Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympics, Andreeva explained, “I think every child who starts their journey in sports dreams of big, big goals. Most likely, all children dream of becoming world number one and winning all the Grand Slams and the Olympics. I guess I was just one of those kids. But I still haven`t accomplished any of that yet. Hopefully, everything is ahead. So I`ll just continue to believe in myself and work, work, work.”
Regarding a moment in her childhood or youth when she truly believed in herself, Andreeva said, “In childhood, probably not. And even at the junior level, it`s hard to say that I`m the coolest here and will beat everyone. Everyone generally knows that victories at the junior level are not really an indicator. Of course, now I would say that I am quite confident in what I do on the court. Not that I`m self-confident, but I`m confident in my game.”
Speaking about her first foreign coach, Frenchman Jean-Rene Lisnard`s comment about Russian parents being ready to do anything for their tennis-playing children, Andreeva shared, “If we needed to go to some tournament and I, conditionally, wanted my dad to go with me, he would drop everything and go with me. Because I wanted it that way. Or vice versa: if I wanted my mom to go with me, we somehow organized everything to make it exactly like that. They just listened to Erika and me and helped us do what we love. And they still do. For which I am very grateful to them.”
When asked if she ever thought about sacrificing a significant part of her childhood for tennis and not spending time like ordinary children, and whether she was angry about it, Andreeva replied, “I wasn`t angry. I actually had a wonderful childhood. When I remember it, I almost get tears in my eyes. Because it was just a golden time! I spent a lot of it at my grandparents` house. We spent the whole summer with them, playing with Erika in everything possible. Unfortunately, in the middle of some game of ours, parents would come, pick us up and take us to training, and it was always sad and upsetting. But I don`t regret anything at all. My childhood is a very precious time for me.”
Marcus Prine