"I would like Mirra Andreeva to gain a foothold in the top 10 in 2026"
The last tennis season turned out to be difficult for Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev — they dropped out of the top ten of the ATP rankings and had to change their coaches. But Mirra Andreeva and Ekaterina Alexandrova finished the year in the top 10 of the WTA ranking. In an interview with Izvestia, bronze medalist of the London 2012 Olympics, winner of the 2007 Fed Cup, former third racket of the world and coach of the Russian women's junior national team (U-15) Nadezhda Petrova appreciated the performance of our tennis players last season, spoke about participation in the forum "Russia is a sporting power", and also appreciated the work of his children's lawn tennis school in Moscow and its branch in Yelabuga.
"We want to find new stars and open their way to big-time sports"
— You recently participated in the Russia — Sports Power forum in Samara. What kind of program did you have?
— Participated in the session "150 years of Russian tennis: from great history to new victories". I would like to thank President of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpishchev and colleagues from the Ministry of Sports for the invitation. It turned out to be a good, productive dialogue. We talked about history, new victories and, of course, about the new generation of athletes.
As a children's coach, I can say that the children have changed a lot today. You need to speak the same language with them. They grow up in a world where attention dissipates in seconds, and success is measured by likes and views. Children cannot be carried away by discipline and repetition alone. They need to be inspired by their own examples — to show that sport gives not only victories, but also confidence, character, respect for themselves and others. Previously, the coach was an authoritarian figure, but today he is more of a partner who helps the child understand himself.
During the forum, Tolyatti hosted the Future of Sports Tennis Festival and the second stage of the Hope Cup project, which is being implemented jointly with the Russian Tennis Federation. According to the results of the tournament, I chose the winners from fifty children — they were Vladislav Tishin and Polina Pirogova. They will come to me for a training course at the lawn tennis school in Moscow. I will continue to advise them after the course.
— Do you often hold such events in the regions?
— Yes, I have a lot of experience. After a series of master classes, there is an understanding that this is important and necessary for children. That's why last year we launched the federal project "Cup of Hope" in cooperation with the Federal Technical Support Service and with the information support of the Ministry of Sports.
The project is aimed at breeding children from different regions. The first stage took place in Vladivostok, and the winners have already completed a training course in Moscow under my guidance. The second stage has just ended in Tolyatti. Next year we are planning 4-5 master classes and tournaments. I would like more children involved in tennis to develop further, and we would find new stars and help them open the way to big-time sports.
— A year and a half ago, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, you signed an agreement with the Ministry of Sports of Tatarstan to open a branch in Yelabuga. Are you happy with his current job?
— Yes, very much. More than 150 children are currently studying at the branch. They have almost doubled in a year. Lawn tennis groups were also formed in kindergarten. The branch has its own transport that will take children from kindergartens to school for training. Our students take prizes in competitions and win.
We already have Yelabuga star Margarita Klimova. She is not even seven years old, and in early November she came to Moscow and took first place in the tournament. And this is not her first victory.
I would like to thank the head of the Yelabuga district of Tatarstan, the mayor of Yelabuga, Rustem Nuriev, for supporting my branch, as well as for the development of children's lawn tennis in Yelabuga.
— Veronika Kudermetova was born and raised in Tatarstan. Did you involve her in the work of the Yelabuga branch?
— We are planning a New Year's tournament in Yelabuga, the first competition of this format within the branch. It will be held on December 19-20, and an exhibition match with the participation of tennis stars will also be held. The special guest of the tournament will be Olympic champion, winner of three Grand Slam tournaments in doubles and one in mixed doubles Elena Vesnina.
We also want to invite Veronika or Polina Kudermetova, as Tatarstan stars, to participate in the event, chat with children, and share their experiences. Perhaps some of the young athletes will follow the path of our famous tennis players.
By the way, especially for the New Year's tournament, the official outfitter of my children's school, the Russian clothing brand NEVA, and the Yelabuga administration are developing special sports gifts for all its participants. They will be as useful and functional as possible: tennis equipment, branded backpacks, towels, water bottles, baseball caps, everything you need during the game.
— Where else are you planning to open branches?
— There are plans, but it's too early to talk about it. Now we plan to actively develop within the framework of the branch in Yelabuga — we have a good infrastructure there. But, of course, we also see opportunities for further development, the creation of additional indoor and outdoor courts. We plan to improve further, as the results have already been visible during our work, and there are positive reviews from parents who are very happy that their children have a chance to break into the ranks of the best.
— How does the Russian Tennis Federation support you?
— This is the main partner of the Cup of Hope. With her support, we create a schedule and organize meetings with children. The FTR cooperates with regional federations, which, in turn, provide tennis facilities and courts for our events, and form a coaching base. The federation's specialists give us recommendations and advice on which direction to move in, which regions to pay attention to.
"It seems that by the end of the season Mirra was emotionally tired"
— How would you rate the past season for Russian women's tennis?
— The season turned out to be a success for Mirra Andreeva. She soared into the top 10 of the WTA rankings, even ranked fifth for a while - in general, she made a very loud statement about herself.
Ekaterina Alexandrova showed her best results at the end of the season, rose to the tenth place in the ranking for the first time in her career and got into the Final WTA tournament in Riyadh as a reserve. Yes, she played only one match in the group there, replacing the injured Madison Keys, but even the fact of being among the best is a great achievement and evidence that Ekaterina has had a very stable and high—quality season.
Veronika Kudermetova performed well in doubles: she won Wimbledon with Elise Mertens, and now she has finished the year with a victory at the Final tournament.
It should also be noted that Diana Schneider, who won the pentathlete trophy in singles and played quite successfully with Andreeva. Basically, our women's tennis is moving in the right direction.
— Why was Andreeva in such a state by the end of the season that she did not show up for the last tournament in Tokyo, as a result of which Elena Rybakina beat her in the ranking and knocked her out of the Final tournament?
— It seems that Mirra is just emotionally tired. She achieved her goals too quickly this season: she broke first into the top ten, then into the top 5, and entered the elite. Mirra herself said that her goal was to be in the top 10 by the end of the season, but it happened much faster, and it seems to me that she could not cope with the sharply increased attention.
They started talking about her a lot and comparing her with great tennis players. And everyone she faced in subsequent competitions was already attuned to her in a different way.: for any player ranked lower, it is always prestigious to beat an opponent from the top ten.
In my opinion, Mirra still lacks the gaming experience and inner core to cope with this. We saw that she had emotional breakdowns, but that's normal for her age. Mirra is a very smart girl, besides, she has the right team. I am sure they will do the right job together, and next season we will see a more mature and strong Mirra Andreeva.
— What do you expect from her in 2026?
— Of course, I want her to gain a foothold in the top ten, qualify for her first singles Final tournament, defend her results from last season, and also step up in the Grand Slam tournaments and get closer to her dream of winning the trophy of this series of tournaments.
"Medvedev pulled the situation a little bit by changing the team"
— How would you rate the performance of our leaders in men's singles?
— Karen Khachanov played very well this season and showed quite stable tennis. As for Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, they certainly had a downturn, but it is understandable, as it is very difficult from year to year to maintain such a high level of play, which they showed in previous seasons.
They have been in the top ten for quite a long time, and in such conditions it is very difficult to keep motivated and raise the bar. How difficult it is to restrain the pressure from the guys who follow you and want to throw you out of position, to take your place.
To stay at the top, you need to do a huge amount of work. It seems that Dani and Andrey have entered a period of oversaturation this year, when it becomes more difficult to form a new motivation.
It seems to me that at the end of the season, Medvedev pulled the situation a little bit by changing his team. Although it was necessary to think about these changes already at the moment when the first failures began: to think about the need to change the team, to find a new perspective from the outside, a new approach to training. After the coach change, Dani started making progress again.
As for Rublev, I am very pleased that he started working with Marat Safin, who helped him find a way out of his difficult situation. Now Andrey is enjoying what he is doing again. I hope he will still be able to please us in the coming seasons.
— The suspension of Russian athletes from international competitions, which began in the spring of 2022, affected our tennis players the least - the ATP and WTA stripped them of their flag, but did not restrict their performances in tournaments under their auspices. However, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) still does not allow the national team to participate in team tournaments like the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup. Do you believe that our tennis will be broken up in this part next year?
— I really want the ITF to review all this so that our athletes — not only tennis players — are finally fully admitted to all competitions. It seems unfair to me when the competitions they work so hard for are taken away from them.
It's hard to constantly improve and develop your best qualities if you can't compete with the best athletes in the world. Yes, in the case of tennis players, the lack of performances at the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup does not affect them so much, but these tournaments give them the opportunity to win additional awards.
Almost always, our best tennis players were very willing and happy to go to the national team and represent it at these competitions. I'm sure they want to play for the national team now. I think that everything will be fine in the near future.
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