Tennis prodigy Mirra Andreeva, 17, thinks Australian Open court is ‘cursed’

Russian tennis prodigy Mirra Andreeva has caught attention in Melbourne again, this time with a peculiar comment about her recent match.

Tennis teen prodigy Mirra Andreeva started to think Court 3 at Melbourne Park was “cursed” during her round two match on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old Russian defeated Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 on the same court things got so tense last year against France’s Diane Parry in the third round that she left a bite mark on her own arm.

Andreeva had revealed in a post-match press conference she had been “saying not good words to myself” during the match but believed that harshness pushed her to win.

On Wednesday, there was a different prominent thought inside her head during the “tough” match.

“Honestly, the only thing I had on my mind is ‘this court is cursed’ and ‘I don’t want to play on that court again’. I had this thought during the whole match,” she said.

“I tried not to think about it, but it was still there. I had the thought that ‘this stupid court, it’s all because of this court.’”

Mirra Andreeva said she thought Court 3 at Melbourne Park was cursed. Picture: Australian Open YouTube

Andreeva said the energy from the crowd supporting her is what helped her stay in the match.

“In the end on the tie-break, I was freaking nervous. But I’m so happy in the end I managed to win the match,” she said.

Andreeva said she was trying to enjoy each match she played, and avoid thinking too much about the score or who she is playing.

“I just try to enjoy the time when my racquet hits the ball, the sound, the support from people, the sound when I move my legs,” she said.

“I just try to focus on those things, on real things that happen during the match. That’s when I play my best tennis.”

Andreeva reacts defeated Japan's Moyuka Uchijima in a ‘tough’ match on Wednesday. Picture: Martin Keep / AFP

When pictures of a bite mark on the teen’s upper arm emerged last year, eyebrows were raised and debate erupted.

Even British tennis legend Andy Murray defended the young star when a commentator said she was too hard on herself and “really needs to work on the mental side of her game”.

Clinical psychologist Dr Lisa Olive, who specialises in high performance sport, told news.com.au the bite was not an unusual response to feeling such high levels of pressure, tension or stress expected in that environment.

“Biting her arm may just be a way she’s let out her frustration or being able to cope with some of those emotions,” Dr Olive told news.com.au at the time.

“She might not have been tested in that way before so it might have just been a new pattern of trying to alleviate that tension.

“In that first instance it seems that having those emotions in that situation when you’re doing something that matters to you would be normal.”

The 17-year-old took a selfie with fans, who she credits for helping her win the round two clash. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Last year, the round three match was so intense, the frustrated teen left a bite mark on her upper arm. Picture: Fox Sports

However, Dr Olive, who previously worked at the Australian Institute of Sport, said there was a lot improvements that could be made in the mental health space.

She said for young athletes sometimes the pressure to perform “can lead to an unhealthy focus on results”.

“We know from research in young athletes that there can be risks of burnout and overtraining,” she said.

“We’ve seen in tennis, situations of abuse and maltreatment of young tennis players, be that from entourage, parents or other things like parental conflict and risk taking by training through pain and injury, because of that expectation of them early in their career to be successful.”

Dr Olive explained individual sports tend to have higher rates of people presenting with mental health difficulties, and tennis had unique characteristics with added pressures seen less in other sports.

“The athletes are on the road a lot, they’re away from home, away from their usual supports,” she said.

She added while successful players may have their entourage travel with them, most tennis players weren’t making the big money that allowed them to afford their support people to follow them around the world.

Originally published as Tennis prodigy Mirra Andreeva, 17, thinks Australian Open court is ‘cursed’