There was a lot of hullabaloo around Mirra Andreeva during the Indian Wells Open of 2025 and it wasn’t just restricted to her performances alone but also to do with an incident during a changeover in her semifinal match against Iga Swiatek.
Journalling is a good mental exercise, experts reckon. Mirra Andreeva looks to have taken that advice, which was passed on to her by her coach, rather seriously!
Andreeva created shockwaves in the tennis world by winning her first ever WTA 1000 title at the 2025 Indian Wells Open when she came back from being a set down to defeat Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Her tournament victory consisted of defeats of Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, Swiatek and Sabalenka.
But it wasn’t just the fact that a 17-year-old had gone on to win her second WTA 1000 title of the season that got the tongues wagging. It was what transpired when she sat down after losing the second set of her semifinal to Swiatek.
The Russian was caught on camera referring to a notebook during that changeover. And that notebook looked to be a journal about each of her opponent whom she had defeated in the tournament till that point.
The names caught on camera included (Elina) Svitolina, (Elena) Rybakina, (Clara) Tauson and (Varvara) Gracheva, players that Andreeva had overpowered in the lead-up to the semifinals.
Andreeva would go on to reveal later that she jots down details about her opponents after being advised by her coach Conchita Martinez to do the same and reads those very notes to prepare for her matches.
This, however, is one of those rare occasions when a player has used such notes consisting, most ostensibly about her tactics and in all probabilities her feelings in those matches.
Mirra Andreeva having literal hand written notes about her opponents is the best thing I seen in tennis in a long time.
She a true student of the game.
I know She dreads playing Sabalenka, I hope her notes on her do the dream in the Indian Wells final. pic.twitter.com/YkHnqqUFTM
— Derrick X (@DerrickAshimwe) March 15, 2025
At the end of the match, Andreeva had a long discussion with Tennis Channel, the official broadcaster of the Indian Wells Open 2025 and explained what those notes consisted of.
Andreeva said those pages had reminders for her regarding tactics and the technical aspects of the game but refused to explain any further.
She also revealed that she referred to those notes every time she felt a tad nervous on court.
When told by the broadcaster that the cameras had caught a few of the names mentioned in her notebook, Andreeva said she also had a few things written down from her previous matches which give her a handy reference – citing the examples of Swiatek and Rybakina whom she had played in Dubai too before this tournament.
The tournament organisers went on to present a new notebook to Mirra after she won the title. An excited Andreeva said she would love to use it but only after her current notebook was over.
It’s the little things 📒
Mirra Andreeva | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/72Dnpn8i9z
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2025
Following her win over Sabalenka in the final of the tournament, Andreeva would go on to thank “myself” for the win, eliciting laughter and cheers from the crowd!
