The Champion's Playbook: Mirra Andreeva’s On-Court Note-Taking System

 The Champion's Playbook: Mirra Andreeva’s On-Court Note-Taking System

Mirra Andreeva just won the French Open Tennis Match (one of the four grand slam events) at 19 years old. What's her secret? She is celebrated on tour for her unique on-court note-taking preparation methodology and her signature post-win catchphrase: "I would like to thank myself."

 Photos was made from Internet Sources

In her post-match final press conference at Roland-Garros-- 10:18min, tennis champion Mirra Andreeva shares how she uses a dedicated notebook on the court to manage her strategy, tactical execution, and mindset.

Her note-taking methodology serves as a practical blueprint for self-reflection and performance management, split strictly into two distinct phases:

1. Pre-Match Preparation (Tactics & Mindset)

Before she steps onto the court, she fills her notebook with highly practical, actionable anchors:

• Tactical Contingencies: She writes down explicit tactical rules and adjustment strategies (e.g., "If this strategy doesn't work, do this instead"). This ensures she doesn't have to formulate a new plan under intense pressure.
• Technique Reminders: She notes down key technical cues to maintain her form and execution during the heat of competition.
• Psychological Anchors: She includes motivational phrases, positive thoughts, and phrases designed to provide immediate emotional support and stabilization when she faces critical moments or shifting momentum on the court.

2. Post-Match Review (The Living Knowledge Base)

Immediately after her matches, she captures the raw data of the experience to build her personal scouting report for future encounters:

• Self-Assessment: She documents exactly how the match progressed and, crucially, how she felt emotionally and physically during execution.
• Opponent Analysis: She breaks down the opponent's style, patterns, and responses. This acts as a living archive so that the next time she faces a specific opponent, she is completely prepared based on firsthand strategic data.

Key Takeaway: For Andreeva, the notebook acts as a bridge between preparation and high-stakes execution. By externalizing her strategy and mental cues onto paper, she frees up cognitive capacity on the court, ensuring that her execution is guided by pre-established clarity rather than reactive emotion.

She Follows Sun Zi’s Art of War Principles

Her operational approach matches perfectly with classic strategy—specifically how she uses a structured layout to master a chaotic environment. In fact, her note-taking system maps precisely to several foundational principles from Sun Tzu’s Art of War:

 

1. Planning and Calculating Before Battle (Ji / 計)

"The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought." — Sun Tzu, Chapter 1

Andreeva’s notebook is literally her "temple" of calculations. Before she even steps onto the court, she pre-programs her tactical adjustments. She doesn't wait for the heat of the match to figure out what to do if conditions change or if her primary strategy fails. By doing the heavy analytical work beforehand, she minimizes the need for high-stakes improvisation under pressure.

 

2. Know the Enemy and Know Yourself (Zhi Bi Zhi Ji / 知己知彼)

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." — Sun Tzu, Chapter 3

Her dual-phase journal is structurally split to satisfy both sides of this coin:

• Know Yourself: Her "Internal State Audit" forces her to document her own emotions and physical states immediately after action. This creates complete self-awareness regarding when her execution is at risk.
• Know the Enemy: Her "Opponent Scouting Archive" logs the exact behavioral patterns, liabilities, and reactions of her rivals. By archiving this raw data, she enters her next encounter with a massive informational layout advantage.
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3. Maintaining Emotional Equilibrium (Calm Emotion)

"A general must be calm and inscrutable..." — Sun Tzu, Chapter 11

"The commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage, and strictness." — Sun Tzu, Chapter 1

Sun Tzu constantly warns against the dangers of an emotional commander who reacts out of anger or fear, as emotion corrupts clear vision. When Andreeva explicitly writes down "psychological anchors" and motivational sentences before the match, she is engineering an emotional circuit breaker. When the environment shifts (like facing 29 mph wind gusts or losing a lead), she doesn't panic. She relies on her pre-written anchors to master her internal state and reclaim momentum.

 

The Ultimate Alignment: Shi (勢) and Fa (法)

In high-level strategic frameworks, Fa (Discipline/System) is what you rely on when Shi (The Environment/Momentum) shifts against you.

When the wind changed and she lost two games in a row while serving for the match, an emotional player would have unraveled. Andreeva simply looked at the structure of the layout, recognized the wind direction, and calmly adjusted her tactics based on her system.

Her notebook isn't just a diary; it is a highly disciplined system of Principle-Centered Flexibility that turns raw athletic talent into enduring strategic mastery.