New era of tennis taking shape in 2025

Indian Wells 2025 winners 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva (Russia) and 23-year-old Jack Draper (UK) announce their entry to winning top-level tennis competitions.

Mirra Andreeva, the teen sensation who recently won her first WTA-1000 level event in Dubai in February, has now won back-to-back WTA-1000 level events at Indian Wells.  Get this: she beat established players Rybakina, Svitolina, Swiatek (world No. 2) in the semi-finals, and Sabalenka (world No. 1) in the finals.  Its an astonishing feat for a 17 year-old making her mark in the tour.

Here are a few tips and strategies I picked up from watching her games and interviews:

1. Find motivation from other elite athletes (even from other sports)

Following her championship win, Andreeva revealed that she found motivation from one of basketball star LeBron James’ speeches about mental toughness. “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,” Andreeva shared. “He said that that’s what makes us champions, so I kind of tried to do the same.”

2. Appreciate and thank yourself

Speaking to the Indian Wells crowd during the trophy presentation, a laughing Andreeva said: "I'd like to thank myself - for fighting until the end, for always believing and for never quitting.”

3. Making the right choices, right shot selection

Conchita Martinez (her current coach) is a former top ranked player and Wimbledon singles champion (1994) who also coached former world no. 1 Garbine Muguruza.  Conchita has helped Andreeva not be too defensive and to find opportunities to step in, be more aggressive and to go for her shots.  Andreeva also improved on her slice, for defensive or offensive situations.  They combined fitness and weight training to achieve a certain style of play and in Indian Wells, it was quite apparent.  Andreeva’s movement was very good and complimented her defensive skills.  She attacked service returns which added pressure to her opponents.  Her standout shot was her back hand down-the-line.  She hit so many winners with that shot.  She also hit some well-placed cross-court drop shots from her forehand side that often caught her opponents by surprise.

4. Displayed more maturity and emotional control for her age

In the semi-final, Andreeva lost the second set 6-1 to Swiatek, and in the final, she lost the first set 6-2 to Sabalenka.  Yet, Andreeva managed to stay composed and continued fighting for the wins. 

I look forward to seeing more of Andreeva’s progression in the Grand Slam events.

At Indian Wells, Jack Draper, the lefty from the UK with a world ranking of 14 (at the time), beat Fritz (world no. 4), Shelton (world no. 12), Alcarez (world no. 2) in the semi-finals, and Rune (world no. 13) in the finals.  Before Indian Wells, Draper has had mixed results, often sidelined for several months due to injuries.  It looks like things are looking up for Draper after this win, which he mentioned has given him more belief that he can win against the top players and go deep in the big tournaments. 

1. Improving on his Serve, Forehand, Movement

In my view, Draper already has a slight advantage being a lefty in the tour dominated more by right-handers, however you still have to work on your game in the areas that may have the highest impact.  It appears Draper has developed a more consistent serve and increased his serve percentage in the last year, being more accurate down the line or out wide particularly in the ad court.  He is also hitting more forehands down the line to keep opponents guessing a bit as most would be expecting a high top-spin cross court forehand which is a natural (and often effective) shot for a lefty to hit to most players’ backhands.  His movement seems to be improved as well, staying in rallies longer and grinding out hard-fought points.

2. Building up the body, creating a stronger foundation

James Trotman (Draper’s coach) mentioned that their main focus coming into 2024 was to have Draper stay fit and healthy (Draper was out for six months due to injuries in the 2023 season).  He wanted Draper to build up more trust in the body as he got stronger and fitter.  According to Trotman this has been a long journey.  It did not matter how good Draper could be, or was going to be, they just focused on keeping him fit and ready through incorporating more physio treatments and strength and conditioning exercises.

3. Developing more self belief, focus and nervous energy management

In an interview, Draper was asked what he was most proud of during his winning run at Indian Wells.  Draper mentioned a few things:

• Figuring out what he needed to do to win the big matches

• Being more consistent at the highest level

• Understanding what works for him

• Being more effective with his tennis

• Learning how to be more professional in the tour, helping him believe he belongs at the top level

• Managing his “nervous energy” on the court through focused attention and conscious breathing, on managing things he could control.

Draper says he know he needs to keep working hard to improve his physical, mental and emotional states.  He says winning can change how you feel about yourself, and can make you calmer and gives you more belief and confidence.   Like Andreeva, he says he would like to thank himself for believing in himself, to keep on going and to not giving up.

In an interview with Draper’s coach James Trotman:

“My philosophy is that I think Jack has a way of playing that we should be looking to execute first and foremost.  Within that, are there two or three tactical things that we might look to implement to help him.  I’m a massive believer in executing what you do well, primarily. On top of that we can build some things that might impact the [specific] match and opponent they’re playing."

When it comes to Trotman's coaching philosophy, he believes in players taking ownership of their own development. He emphasises flexibility and adaptability, tailoring his approach to fit each player's unique needs while also staying true to his fundamental principles.

“I think everybody is different. I think it comes down to the person, that’s the biggest challenge,” Trotman added. “Everyone has different strengths, different weaknesses. But I think the best players I’ve been surrounded with, they’ve been resilient in dealing with adversity, to get on a journey with and see what their vision is and who they want to become.

“It’s a team approach we have, but ultimately it’s about what’s right for the players. Our job is about making a lot of sacrifices for what is best for the players.”

A big part of that coaching journey that we’re still on today is to try and impose his weapons on the court and take the racquet out of his opponent's hand.”