Mirra Andreeva loses two finals in 24 hours and calls out her team during speech | Tennis | Sport

It’s been a tough 24 hours for teenage star Mirra Andreeva, who lost the singles and doubles finals at the Madrid Open this weekend. The world No. 8 broke down in tears after suffering a 6-3 7-5 defeat to Marta Kostyuk in the championship on Saturday afternoon – her first loss in a WTA 1000 singles final.

And around 20 hours later, Andreeva found herself back on the Manolo Santana Stadium, teaming up with countrywoman Diana Shnaider in the doubles final. They led in the first set but ultimately lost to second seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend 7-6(2) 6-2.

After an emotional reaction to her singles defeat, Andreeva was in much better spirits after losing in doubles on Sunday, and even joked that she didn’t need to thank her team, given that she had suffered two losses in two days.

“I don’t know, it’s questionable if I should really thank my team for helping me lose another final! But I mean, two finals, good start on clay so far. Okay, we will talk later, guys,” she laughed, addressing coach Conchita Martinez and co in her box.

“And thanks to my partner for playing with me. We had a great season last year, and as you said, first tournament back together, and we reached the final right away. So thanks so much for playing with me. It’s always very fun.”

Andreeva and Shnaider won two titles together last year in Brisbane and Miami, and claimed an Olympic silver medal in women’s doubles during the 2024 Paris Games, while playing under the Individual Neutral Athletes banner.

But they have reduced their doubles schedule to focus on their respective singles careers, and this was the first time they had teamed up in 2026. They were no match for Siniakova and Townsend, however, who have now not lost a match together since January, winning three consecutive WTA 1000 titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid.

Andreeva was full of praise for the Czech-American duo after the championship match. “Of course, congrats to the girls. You played great throughout this whole week and you’re a very solid team. It’s always very hard to play against you, so congrats with another title, and congrats to your team as well,” she told them.

The teenager also poked fun at herself for repeating much of the speech she made on Saturday after losing to Kostyuk in singles. She added: “Thanks to all of the sponsors who make this tournament possible. Again, thanks to Garbine and Feliciano for making this tournament cosy for players. I’m just gonna, like, copy-paste from my yesterday’s speech!

“Thanks to the people who came today and supported us. It’s very nice to see people watching doubles, especially in the finals, so thanks so much for filling up the stadium today.”

After finishing runner-up in Madrid this week, Andreeva will rise one place to No. 7 in the rankings when they update on Monday, and she’ll be hoping to carry her momentum into the upcoming Italian Open.

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