Swiss legend Roger Federer became one of the best players ever, winning 20 Grand Slam titles and breaking several records throughout his career. However, to achieve this, the Basel-born star had to learn to control his bad temper from his teenage years.
In that regard, Rennae Stubbs—a former professional player, commentator, and coach who worked with Serena Williams during the 2022 US Open—drew a strong comparison between Mirra Andreeva’s recent shift in mindset and the mental transformations of Federer, as well as of current Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
Speaking on the The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Stubbs commented on Andreeva’s recent win in Dubai, where the Russian star became the youngest player to win a WTA 1000. The title also helped her break through the Top 10, reaching the world No. 9 for the first time.
“Mirra Andreeva, to me, is similar [to Madison Keys] in a lot of ways because she was such a mental case on the court at times and I was like, ‘Is this kid ever going to reel this in?’ And now she looks like a completely different player,” the Australian said. “I mean, it’s the same as Roger Federer when he was a junior. He was a psycho. And then he gets to play pro and he realised really quickly, ‘Oh, that doesn’t work. This works’,” she explained.
Mirra Andreeva during the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (Christopher Pike/Getty Images)
That’s the reason she thinks that Andreeva has potential to keep climbing in the ranks. “So that’s why everyone should be afraid of Mirra, and that’s why everyone should be afraid of Madison, because mentally, they are both switched on to what works now and what is successful,” she said.
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Andreeva has already revealed her admiration for Federer
Mirra Andreeva, who reached the semifinals of the 2024 French Open and won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, defeated Danish standout Clara Tauson 7-6(1), 6-1 in a hard-fought final. On route to the trophy, she recorded victories over Grand Slam champions Marketa Vondrousova, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina.
After winning the title, the young star revealed that Federer is her ‘number one’ player and that she watches videos of him to motivate herself. Ahead of the Dubai final, she watched highlights of the Swiss’ victory at the 2017 Australian Open and the young star was impressed by Federer’s composure.
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“I was like, damn, how can he play like this? This is something extraordinary. How can a person just look good? First, play like, not that he doesn’t care, but play like everything is great even though he’s losing 1-6, 3-6, it’s the fifth set. I knew he was losing 1-3 in the fifth. How can you just look good, play amazing, then in the end win the Slam?” she told the press.
Judging by her results, she is on a journey to make her idol proud.
