At the age of 17, Mirra Andreeva is becoming one of the brightest tennis stars and can thank LeBron James for that. She just won the Indian Wells title in three sets against the World’s No.1 ranked player, Aryna Sabalenka. After the game, she talked about what inspired and motivated her. And it turns out, one of the greatest players in NBA history, played a part in her winning.
Tennis Prodigy Says LeBron Helped Her Win Indian Wells Title
In an interview with Tennis Channel, Mira Andreeva said that she had taken inspiration from LeBron on how to win games. She said,
“I was listening to the interview of LeBron James and he was saying that even if you don’t play your 100% and even if you don’t feel like you’re 100% physically, I’m gonna choose to be 100% mentally. He said that that’s what makes us champions, so I kind of tried to do the same.”
In the beginning, her mentality was not 100% right. Andreeva lost the first set 6:2. She acknowledged that in the interview. But getting back from a deficit is what makes someone a champion. It takes mental toughness to do that. And the smart young lady followed the blueprints of a legend. After all, LeBron has come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals. Here is what Mirra said in the interview,
“It didn’t really work in the beginning. But then, with some time, in the end, I managed to overcome that and to really try and, go for my shots and act like, you know, one of the legends.”
It shows that LeBron’s influence truly goes beyond the basketball court. Not many players in the league can say that. The last one that had such an influence was Kobe Bryant.
Mirra’s Incredible Indian Wells Run
Andreeva might be only 17 years old, but she is already building a name for herself in the tennis world. The young Russian tennis player had an impressive run at Indian Wells. In the round of 16, she beat No.8 seed, Elena Rybakina in straight sets.
But the biggest surprise came in the last two rounds. In the semi-final, she beat the world No.2 player, Iga Swiatek in three sets. She took the first set in a tiebreaker, before eventually closing with a 6-3 run in the third set.
In the finals, she played the World’s No.1 ranked player, Aryna Sabalenka. After losing the first set, she came back and won 2:6, 6:4, 6:3.
LeBron Congratulates Mirra Andreeva
This is not the first time James has praised other athletes and shared their success. After he heard the interview of the young Russian tennis player, LeBron wanted to congratulate Mirra Andreeva himself. On Monday evening, he posted on his IG story, writing,
“Congratulations. Happy to have helped. But honestly, YOU did THAT! All your hard work, drive, and dedication toward your craft. KEEP GOING! Strive for Greatness!
It just shows how big of an inspiration LeBron is for other athletes around the world. But more importantly, how he is humble enough to accept praise from others and also share back their joy. James is truly one of the best and biggest athletes in the world nowadays.
Photo credit: © Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
