Mirra Andreeva will have even more attention on her at Indian Wells this year as the defending champion.
Andreeva beat Aryna Sabalenka to win the Indian Wells title last year, which came straight after she won her first WTA 1000 tournament at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The 18-year-old has just had her first experience of defending a WTA 1000 title in Dubai, with Andreeva left in tears after her quarterfinal defeat to Amanda Anisimova.
Despite this emotional reaction to her latest defeat, Andreeva has provided a positive response when asked if she is feeling pressure ahead of her Indian Wells title defence.
Mirra Andreeva claims she does not feel pressure to defend Indian Wells ranking points
Andreeva is defending 1000 ranking points at Indian Wells as the defending champion, which accounts for 25% of her current ranking points total.
Although she is at risk of dropping out of the top 10 in the WTA rankings, Andreeva has stated that her main emotion is excitement coming into Indian Wells.
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“Well, honestly I thought that I would think about that a lot,” Andreeva said in her pre-tournament press conference. “I was worried about defending points in Dubai since Roland Garros.
“So, you know, I was thinking about that a lot, but then actually when I came to Dubai, the only thing I felt is excitement of being there again, of feeling new emotions as being on the tournament as a defending champion.
“So again, it was all new to me, but I didn’t feel the pressure for some reason as I thought I would. And here is the same thing.
“I’m just so excited to be here as a defending champion, see my photos almost everywhere in every corner. It’s just nice to be here again, and now I don’t feel any pressure on defending points.”
When did a WTA player last defend the Indian Wells title?
Andreeva will be looking to achieve something that only one other WTA player in history has before at Indian Wells.
The only other woman to have defended the Indian Wells title is Martina Navratilova, who did so after winning the title in 1991.
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If Andreeva is to win Indian Wells again this year, then she would also equal 10 other WTA players with the most titles at the tournament.
Some of the potential threats to Andreeva in her half of the draw include Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova.
Before Andreeva can look ahead to these potential matches in the latter stages of the tournament, she will need to prepare for her opening round against either ATX Open champion Peyton Stearns or Solana Sierra.
The defending champion will play her first match at Indian Wells on Saturday, March 7.
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