“One of the very best coaches”: Boris Becker hails Conchita Martínez’s impact on Mirra Andreeva

Boris Becker praised Mirra Andreeva’s coach, Conchita Martínez, after her protégé claimed her second WTA 1000 title at Indian Wells. A social media post highlighted Martínez’s resilience at Indian Wells, dating back to her playing days in the 90s.

Martínez not only stands out as one of the few female coaches on the WTA Tour, but she is also a true tennis legend — a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and a former Wimbledon champion. However, her personal journey at Indian Wells never led to a title.

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Conchita Martínez’s Indian Wells story praised by Boris Becker

The former world No. 2 won a total of 33 titles in her career, but Indian Wells was never among them. In 1992, she reached the final for the first time as the third seed but suffered a tough loss against then-world No. 1 Monica Seles (3-6, 1-6).

Four years later, she had another shot at the title. As the second seed, Martínez once again reached the final, this time against Steffi Graf, who was the world No. 1 at the time. Yet again, Martínez fell just short of the trophy, losing 6-7(5), 6-7(5).

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A post on X by tennis journalist Bastien Fachan highlighted Conchita’s story at Indian Wells, after falling short twice as a player. Now, 33 years after her first final at the Tennis Garden, Martínez finally claimed the Indian Wells title — albeit as Andreeva’s coach.

Former world No. 1 Boris Becker shared the post and paid tribute to his colleague, who is just five years younger and crossed paths with him in the late 80s and early 90s. The German, a six-time Grand Slam champion, praised Martínez’s perseverance oat the Tennis Paradise.

“So much respect for Conchita! She is one of the very best coaches tennis 🎾 has ever seen!” Becker wrote on X. “Mirra is a lucky girl to have her in her corner! Now go and win more tournaments together… We can’t wait!”

Martínez has been working with Andreeva for a year now, and they’ve already claimed three titles together, including the WTA 1000 trophies at the Dubai Open and Indian Wells in the past month. The Russian teenager is on a 12-match winning streak, has climbed to world No. 6 — her best ranking so far — and quickly travelled to Miami to prepare for her next challenge: another WTA 1000 event, aiming to keep making history alongside her coach.

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