Mirra Andreeva’s singles campaign at the Madrid Open ended in heartbreak as the teenager fell at her final hurdle against Marta Kostyuk on Saturday. Despite her painful defeat, she showed up smiling on court the next day for her women’s doubles final with partner Diana Shnaider against Taylor Townsend and Kateřina Siniaková.
Shnaider’s coach, Sascha Bajin, didn’t take the criticism that faced Andreeva lightly. He called out the fans who mocked the player for bursting into tears after her singles loss.
Mirra Andreeva Strongly Defended After Madrid Open Singles Campaign
Andreeva, seeded ninth, opened her Madrid Open run with a hat trick against Hungarians Panna Udvardy, Dalma Gálfi, and Anna Bondár. In the quarterfinal, she came out on top against Leylah Fernandez in straight sets and then survived a scare from Hailey Baptiste to reach her first final at the tournament.
Andreeva has been exceptional on clay so far, winning the WTA 500 event in Linz and following that with a semifinal appearance in Stuttgart. Her progress on the surface comes after a series of setbacks, including title defense failures in Dubai and Indian Wells.
After Kostyuk denied her the trophy in Madrid with a 6-3, 7-5 win, she broke down in tears. She couldn’t hold back while delivering her runner-up speech, either. Andreeva, who turned 19 during her run in the Spanish capital, seemingly received backlash for her intense display of emotions. The harsh reaction from the tennis community didn’t sit well with Bajin, who coaches Diana Shnaider, Andreeva’s doubles partner.
“Everybody who’s sh**ting on Mirra, a 19-year-old girl, for crying after losing the finals clearly never dedicated his or her whole life towards one thing. Never played any competitive sports and clearly doesn’t understand the concept of giving it your all but still getting beaten,” he wrote on X.
Bajin, who has extensive WTA coaching experience, having worked with the likes of Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Karolína Plíšková, and Donna Vekić, among others, added, “You gotta hate losing, and it has to hurt in order for you to be successful. I just hope she doesn’t forget the joy of winning and doesn’t see winning as the norm. Great players tend to forget that sometimes.”
The Serbian-born German coach has been mentoring Andreeva and Shnaider alongside the former’s coach Conchita Martínez during their doubles run at the WTA 1000 tournament. The pair, who won silver at the Paris Olympics, reached their fourth final together in Madrid, having won their previous two in Brisbane and Miami (2025).
