Mirra Andreeva reveals what she did just like Iga Swiatek in the lead-up to crushing the World No. 2 in Dubai

For many years, Iga Swiatek has talked about the importance of her sports psychologist in her rise to the top. 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva took a similar route and recently got the better of the Pole in Dubai.

Swiatek has been working with her psychologist Daria Abramowicz since 2019. Over the years, she has not shied away from giving Abramowicz credit for helping with her 'general well-being, concentration, and work-life balance.'

At the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships, Swiatek came up against Andreeva in the quarterfinal and surprisingly faced a 3-6, 3-6 defeat on Thursday, February 20. The Russian teenager became the youngest semifinalist in the Dubai event's history.

In a post-match interview, Andreeva revealed that just like Swiatek, she is also working with a sports psychologist.

"We started not a long time ago," Mirra Andreeva confirmed (via Tennis.com).

Her agent helped link her up with one and she feels it is helping her.

"I feel like it's been helping me a lot... I have some new tips. I have some new advices in a way how to work with my anger inside, what to do when I don't feel great, how to maintain my level when I feel great, how to keep being me."

Andreeva reflected on her mindset during the match against Swiatek, explaining that even when she was down 1-3, she still felt confident in her game.

"I felt like it was out there on the court that I felt like still 1-3, but I feel strong. Yeah, I just thought that, 'Okay, it's going to take some time but I'm going to go back and I'm going to try to come back and win the second set,'" she added.

17-year-old Andreeva made a name for herself after her surprising run to the semifinals at the French Open last year after defeating World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. Now, she has reached her first WTA 1000 semifinal after defeating another World No. 2, Swiatek.

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Iga Swiatek blames the schedule after her loss to Mirra Andreeva at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2025 QF

Iga Swiatek and Mirra Andreeva at the Dubai Tennis Championships - Source: Getty

During her post-match press conference after losing to Mirra Anreeva, Iga Swiatek blamed the WTA Tour schedule and said:

"For sure it's a calendar thing. We're not going to be able to be consistent for many years playing week-by-week," Iga Swiatek told reporters. "Also it's not like some time ago that outside of top-20 players, they were just getting destroyed more. Now anybody can win these tournaments. It is like that since a couple of years."

She had made similar comments warning about players' longevity in Cincinnati last year.

Iga Swiatek began her season in December 2024 with the United Cup where she reached the final but Poland fell to the USA. Days later, she competed at the Australian Open and reached the semifinal.

After a fortnight off, she competed in the WTA 1000 event in Qatar and reached the semifinal, soon after, she played the WTA 1000 event in Dubai and lost in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Mirra Andreeva will now prepare for another tough test as the 17-year-old will take on Elena Rybakina in the semifinal in Dubai on February 21.