'150 percent of your focus': Andreeva on what it will take to compete at the WTA Finals

BEIJING -- Mirra Andreeva said her 2025 Asian Swing was a "nightmare."

At the time, she was in a prime position to qualify for the 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh, holding onto the eighth spot. However, following a 2-2 record across Beijing, Wuhan and Ningbo, the margin quickly shrunk as Elena Rybakina, who won Ningbo, was now right behind. 

Then came Tokyo, which Andreeva decided not to play. That choice opened the door for Rybakina, who now controlled her own destiny and just need to make the semifinals. The rest is history as Rybakina made the semifinals, and ultimately won her first WTA Finals championships.

"I think we all know that I just messed up big time," Andreeva said to wtatennis.com in Beijing. "Every match that [Rybakina] had to win in order to qualify, she did. Every tournament that she had to play to qualify, she did.

"You learn from your mistakes sometimes, and even though last year was pretty harsh because when I saw that she won -- I think it was quarterfinal match in Tokyo -- I was like, 'Ughh yeah, of course.' I was disappointed."

This year, Andreeva doesn't have to worry about repeating the same mistake. While in Beijing, she qualified for her first-career WTA Finals as one of the elite eight heading to Indian Wells. 

Andreeva, 19, is having a career-best season on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, highlighted by her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, where she won the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen in Paris. She also captured titles in Adelaide and Linz and reached finals in Madrid and Beijing.

"We did a pretty good job this year focusing on sometimes maybe not playing a certain week, sometimes playing more like we did with a clay season," Andreeva said. "I played [almost] every single tournament that there was on clay. That also brought me a lot of points in order to help me qualify for the finals.

"Having my team that is super experienced around me, kind of giving me advice on how to preserve my energy, how to maybe spend less time on site, how to focus on whatever stuff that I have to focus on in order to play well. I think just a mix of all these aspects just helped me to play consistent and earn enough points to qualify."

With her win in Paris, Andreeva had always been in a strong spot to qualify, but she didn't think about the WTA Finals until Beijing. Throughout the season, she was focusing on building up to the majors, and with those complete, her focus is now on Indian Wells.

After a runner-up finish in Beijing, Andreeva elected to skip Wuhan with a change of schedule. She is next scheduled to return at Indian Wells.

"In the beginning of the year, I don't think about that at all," Andreeva said. "I didn't think about finals. I didn't think if I would have enough points to qualify, if how good I needed to play. As soon as the [Beijing] tournament started, I started to think about that.

"I started to look at different players, how many points they had, how many matches I had to win. So,  doing a little bit of math as well, but then after that, I just tried to focus on playing well. If I focus on that, the points will come and therefore I'll be able to qualify."

Andreeva's 2026 season has been her career-best, earning 50 wins through her 66 matches. Though her 2026 Indian Wells tournament wasn't her best, she'll return to Tennis Paradise, a spot where she won her second WTA 1000 title in 2025. 

While Indian Wells brings an energetic atmosphere in March as a combined tournament, she's excited for the smaller contingent of players and teams, an indication she earned her spot among the season's top players. 

"I've never been there in the fall," Andreeva said. "It's pretty interesting to go there when the official tournament is not on, when there's going to be twice less players, such a big facility, a lot of courts, and it's just going to be for basically 20, 25, 30 people, I guess overall.

"I'm just super excited to come there as well because Indian Wells then is one of my favorite tournaments, ery happy to play on those courts again."

A new challenge that Indian Wells will present Andreeva is she won't work her way through the draw to eventually play top seeded players.

Rather, she'll face the best of the best every match, something she's looking forward to embracing. 

"Every match will have to require like 150% of your focus, of your mental side, of your physical side as well," Andreeva said. "Every match that you're going to have to play is going to be super tough.

"Here, first round 'Bam!' You can play against Aryna or Elena and of course, that's not going to be easy, but I personally worked for that the whole year, so I'm just excited to see what it's going to feel like."