Wednesday, 06 May 2026 / Published in Mirra Andreeva, Prakesh Armitraj

Is This The Best Post-Match Interview Of All Time?

G’day,

This is one of the best things I have EVER seen in our great sport. It’s an absolute MASTERCLASS by Prakash Amritraj on the Tennis Channel, interviewing Mirra Andreeva after her 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 victory over Anna Bondar in the 4th round of Madrid.

Let’s cut to the chase. Mirra led 5-1 in the third set and then lost five straight games to trail 5-6. She then said some things that were very self-defeating. Disturbing, really. The 19-year-old lost control of her emotions and became very negative.

But she pulled out of the spiral and won the match.

LESSON – One of the toughest things to do for a PARENT or COACH is to correctly handle the post-match discussion AFTER a player has acted poorly in the match.

What should you do? Address it straight away to discuss the problem? Get angry at the player? Dismiss the bad behavior? Create an awkward situation that helps nobody?

Here’s what Prakash did…

Disarm & Deflect. He did it brilliantly!

He changed the narrative and started the interview with “What were you happy with?” He removed any potential confrontation immediately.

If you are a parent or a coach, you need to copy/paste the exact line of discussion Prakash used. He absolutely nailed it, and Mirra gets to talk about the dark place she found herself in so that she can address it and then move on.

Watch the two videos below and follow Prakash’s lead on how to turn a tough talk into an encouraging one.

VIDEO 1: 2026 Mirra Andreeva’s Negativity At 5-6 In The 3rd Set

VIDEO 2: Prakash Armitraj Interview Mirra Andreeva

SUMMARY: LET’S COPY PRAKASH’S MENTAL MASTERCLASS

Let’s first recognize it’s not an easy situation for Prakash to be in, having to address the dark place Mirra’s mind went to in the match.

Here’s how he did it.

1 DISARM. He immediately lowers the temperature of the conversation. Mirra obviously knows they are going to address her meltdown at 5-6, but I am sure she is relieved that they are not diving straight into it. Prakash says “First talk to me about the tennis. What were you happy with, with your game today?”

Boy that’s good. Parents take note. Coaches take note. Let’s follow Prakash’s lead and not bring all those negative emotions back to the surface so quickly. Getting Mirra to say “I’m pretty happy with how I played” makes a positive and constructive conversation possible.

2. REFRAME. Prakash says early in the interview that “You regrouped beautifully in the third set.” This is the first time he addresses the very difficult third set where Mirra lost five straight games. He starts the discussion in the most positive way possible. It’s pure genius to take such a negative experience and start the conversation about it in such a positive manner.

3. COMPASSION. Prakash says “It’s easy for tennis players to get into a bit of a dark place.” He understands. He sympathizes. He lets her know that she is not alone with battling mental demons.

4. POSITIVE MINDSET. Prakash follows up with “But you pulled yourself out of it just so amazingly.” What a wonderful way to spin a positive from what must have felt absolutely awful for Mirra at the time.

5. POSITIVE SELF TALK. Prakash has brought the conversation to such a good place in Mirra’s head that she is now able to pinpoint positives from the whole experience.

6. POSITIVE FINISH. The interview ends with Prakash saying “Very brilliant analysis” and “really, really awesome effort out there today.” This whole experience is a positive for Mirra and helps her journey of healing as she moves away from the dark place she found herself in deep in the third set.

Thanks to Prakash, and his wonderful interview, we now have a blueprint to copy as parents and coaches to handle the tough times that inevitably happen in our great sport.

The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.