Former Naomi Osaka coach speaks out in defence of Mirra Andreeva after recent criticism

Former Naomi Osaka coach Sascha Bajin was one of the first to come out in support of Mirra Andreeva following her tearful reaction after the Madrid Open final.

Bajin posted on X, criticising those who were quick to judge Andreeva’s tears, making it clear he didn’t agree with their reactions.

He wrote: “Everybody who’s s———- 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.”

Bajin later followed up by saying: “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.”

Andreeva handled herself well throughout, speaking calmly during her runner-up speech and there wasn’t much reason for criticism in how she behaved.

Why Mirra Andreeva reacts the way she does to defeat

Andreeva spoke with much more composure during her post-match press conference, clearly having had some time to collect herself.

She explained why defeat hits her so hard, saying: “Every time I lose, every time it’s like the end of the world to me.”

She went on to say that she struggles to understand how other players can seem so unaffected by losses, saying: “I don’t know. Sometimes I see other players, like, smile right after the defeat, right after the matches they lost. I don’t understand how people do it. I wish I could do it.

“Every match that I lose is obviously very disappointing and very painful to me.

“I hope that maybe in the future this can improve and I can… maybe, after the match that I lose, I can, you know, talk about it right away and not take some time before starting to talk about it.”