When Mirra Andreeva made history in Dubai three months ago by becoming the youngest WTA 1000 champion in series history, the then 17-year-old famously thanked herself in her victory speech.
“Last but not least, I would like to thank me. I know what I have been dealing with so I want to thank me for always believing in me, I want to thank me for never quitting and always dealing with the pressure,” Andreeva told the crowd at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium during the trophy ceremony.
Three weeks later, she enjoyed another stunning run at the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, where she defeated world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
She once again thanked herself during her speech. It’s not always easy for athletes to take a step back and give credit to themselves and Andreeva’s words struck a chord with many people watching.
The affable teenager realises there could be a deeper meaning behind her speech. But she is also candid about what inspired her to say those words, and she confessed her reasoning was not that deep.
“I will be honest, I didn't think of how important it is to thank yourself. I just saw an interview of Snoop Dogg before playing a final and I was like, ‘OK, if I win, I might just say that’, and that's what I did,” Andreeva said recently in Madrid.
When Snoop Dogg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame back in 2018, the American rapper famously wrapped up his speech by paying tribute to himself. “My first thought was, ‘Oh, it would be cool if I say the same’,” admitted Andreeva.
Andreeva has many standout qualities as a tennis player, her creative game earning her countless fans across the globe, ever since she broke through on the WTA tour as a 15-year-old at the Madrid Open.
But it is perhaps her authenticity that is the most likeable thing about her. So often in conversation, Andreeva can surprise you, her earnestness allowing her to share an unfiltered version of her personality.
When she reached the last-16 in Madrid on her tour-level debut two years ago, she said the most special thing about being at the Caja Magica was being able to dine with some of the biggest stars on tour.
“You see Andy Murray … you see his face and he’s so beautiful in life. He’s so amazing,” she gushed.
Her surprise run that tournament caught the eye of former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, who reached out to the Russian teenager to congratulate her.
“I was super shocked that a Grand Slam champion texted me. And I was like, ‘Mom, did you see?’ I was super excited. And I still remember that moment,” Andreeva recalls.
During her first Australian Open main draw appearance last year, Andreeva rallied back from 1-5 down in the final set of her third round to defeat Diane Parry in a deciding tiebreak.
Murray was watching on TV and hailed Andreeva’s mental strength in a post on social media. She got the tweet framed and says she keeps it on her bedside table.
“I even have the photo on my phone. It's like on my wallpaper,” she beamed, reciting the content of the tweet verbatim. “I remember this tweet, like exactly how he wrote it.”
In the span of two years, Andreeva has gone from being a starry-eyed new kid on the block to becoming a household name herself, and she enters this week’s Roland Garros ranked a career-high No 6 in the world and perched nicely at No 3 in the Race to the WTA Finals.
The French Open is where Andreeva made her Grand Slam debut in 2023, and it’s the site of her best major result so far, having reached the semi-finals on Parisian clay 12 months ago.
The Roland Garros venue is also where Andreeva won a silver medal in doubles, alongside Diana Shnaider, at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“When I came here and my first practice was with Diana, so we came here and I think our first thought was it's like we never left. The time passed super quickly, and the memories are amazing,” Andreeva told reporters at Roland Garros on Friday.
“My first practice was with her, and we just kind of had some flashbacks practising on Philippe Chatrier Court. Yeah, the memories were great, and I always remember the time with a smile on my face. I think that it was a great experience for us.”
In Dubai in February, Andreeva knocked out three Grand Slam champions – Marketa Vondrousova, Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek – en route to the title. She beat Rybakina and Swiatek again at her very next tournament, clinching the Indian Wells crown with a brave final performance against Sabalenka.
Her preparations for the French Open included back-to-back runs to the quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome, losing to Coco Gauff on both occasions, and Andreeva is high up on many pundits’ lists of top contenders for the title in Paris.
She opens her Roland Garros campaign on Tuesday against Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and owns a 7-1 record in Grand Slam first-round matches.
Given her soaring success this year, Andreeva has felt a shift in how she’s being received in the locker room and around tournaments.
“I start to notice that a lot of people call me by my name, not just like, ‘Hey, how are you?’ They say, ‘Hey, Mirra’. So it feels nice,” she said with a smile.
“I feel like a lot more players kind of, not recognise me, but they got to know me more, as well. So I also get to meet new people and talk to new people. It's just nice to to meet new people.
“Sometimes I just didn't expect people to come and just have a chitchat with me or just ask how I am and all this stuff. So it's nice that people, they get to know me more, and I also start to get to know more people.”
A noticeable improvement in Andreeva’s game has been her serve, which has become an underrated weapon.
She hit 202kmph against Swiatek at Indian Wells, and says crossing the 200 threshold is something she hopes to achieve more frequently.
“We worked a lot during the pre-season on my serve. We worked a lot on jumping higher, on jumping more active with the legs, to be faster with the arm, those small details,” she explains. “I'm just super happy that the work that we did is paying off now.
“I wouldn't say that it comes naturally to me because, for example, when I was younger, I was always the smallest one. So my serve was super average. I had a good kick serve, good spin, that's the only thing I could do and I was not a great server when I was playing juniors.”
Andreeva has just turned 18 and is the second-youngest player in the Roland Garros women’s main draw. She may be young but having been highly-touted since she was 15, Andreeva feels experienced when it comes to handling the pressure of expectations.
She has a brilliant coach in her corner in the form of ex-Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez and uses all available tools at her disposal to work on her mindset, even watching YouTube videos of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant interviews to help develop a killer instinct.
She has followed a simple approach since her triumph in Dubai.
“Someone told me not to think about anything else but just the point that you're playing right now and you just have to focus on a point that is going on,” she says.
“If it didn't go your way, you forget it happened and then you start to focus from zero again on the point that you have to play. And that's how I try to play in Dubai and Indian Wells and every tournament I play, that if the point didn't go my way, I just forget it happened and I just try to focus from zero to win the next one.”
It is fair to say she can cause some serious damage in Paris if she sticks to that mentality.
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
4x100m relay Silver
2009 Berlin
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
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THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
The%20specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E261hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E400Nm%20at%201%2C750-4%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.5L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C999%20(VX%20Luxury)%3B%20from%20Dh149%2C999%20(VX%20Black%20Gold)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Overall head-to-head
Federer 6-1 Cilic
Head-to-head at Wimbledon
Federer 1-0 Cilic
Grand Slams titles
Federer 18-1 Cilic
Best Wimbledon performance
Federer: Winner (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012)
Cilic: Final (2017*)
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The years Ramadan fell in May
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Price, base: Dh198,300
Engine: 2.0L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 280hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7L / 100km
