"I don't like training, but competitions excite and excite me"

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won her first victory of the season in front of my eyes. Actually, the first one, despite the fact that it's already the end of April. Due to injuries, since last August, the rating of one of the most respected Russian tennis players has not even rolled, but has been flying downhill — if in August 2025 she was in the top 30, then as of April 20, 2026, the 11th racket of the world in the past is 116th.

That's why she had to go through the qualification process at the "thousandth" in Madrid. She played almost the entire first set with Bulgarian Victoria Tomova very confidently, but at 5-3 on her serve, her opponent had three break points, each of which Pavlyuchenkova managed without flinching. And she didn't have any more problems in the second set.

But they happened the next day — in the final of the qualification with Ukrainian Yulia Starodubtseva, today the 53rd racket of the world. Having taken the first set — 6-4, Anastasia got the "steering wheel" in the second. But she found the strength to spend the third round as if nothing had happened and advance to the main tournament (in the first round, Alexandra Aela lost to the winner of 12 WTA singles titles).

We met for an interview with Izvestia and SE after her entry into the main Madrid tournament, and Anastasia shared her feelings about her current tennis and mental state, as well as spoke about Elena Rybakina, Arina Sobolenko, Mirra Andreeva and Maria Sharapova.

"I live peacefully without tennis, but I still enjoy the competitive process"

— Anastasia, happy victory and entry into the main tournament. I've always admired tennis players who are able to rise from the ashes after 0-6 and win a match. How did you manage it in the qualifying final with Yulia Starodubtseva?

— In the second set, when it didn't work out from the very beginning, after the middle of the set I just exhaled and thought: "So, we need to take the first game of the third set for sure." I had some kind of mindset that I was going to win. That is, I somehow rebooted, let go of this failed set, it's gone. I told myself that I had to take the initiative and turn the situation around. I think it was my serve, and I actively went to take the third one.

— Have you ever won a match before, losing it 0-6?

— I think it was like that. I can't remember exactly which match, but I've been through this situation one hundred percent over my long career.

— How comfortable are you, an 18-time winner of WTA tournaments, Olympic champion, Grand Slam finalist, generally making your way through the qualification? How do you feel when you have to play such matches?

— It's not easy. Because I know that, first of all, to pass it, you also need to fight for more than two hours. Starodubtseva is the first seed, she played with confidence in the Charleston finals. I followed her results, so I knew it would be difficult.

Yes, this is a strong tournament, and I have a rating situation where I have to qualify — there are a lot of decent, good players here. I accepted it normally. I thought: if I pass, it's a plus for the main tournament. Two matches are already in your pocket, there is a pretense, and then it's easier.

How many times have I watched how players who qualified for a particular tournament got far, because it's always difficult to start a tournament, especially going through the first rounds. And here you already have a supply.

— When the rating was going down, didn't you think that this was it, and you should end your career?

- no. I'm not twenty years old, there's no way I have five or more years ahead of me. I don't have such thoughts, I try to be in the moment. So I accepted it. I was coming back from an injury in 2023, and I didn't have much of a rating there. It was frozen, but in fact the rating was 700. I mean, I've been in this situation before, and it's even worse. So I don't see anything wrong with that. The most important thing is that if there is a game, then the rating will come.

— What do you feel now in terms of the desire to continue your career? Maybe you even keep a certain number of years on the court for yourself? I read a phrase attributed to you somewhere, but I don't really believe in its authenticity: they say you're afraid to finish because you don't know how to live without tennis.

— That's definitely not my phrase. I don't have that, I live peacefully without tennis. But it's clear: I've been playing tennis all my life, it's a huge part of it, and I give myself to it one hundred percent. Plus, I'm a fighter, I like the competition process itself — to fight, to win. I don't like to train, I don't like the routine, but the competitive process still excites me, turns me on. And now I'm not going to guess how much more I'll play.

"Like Medvedev, I haven't lost since I was 14."

Olympic champion Andrey Rublev — about the upcoming clay Masters, the final of the tournament in Barcelona and the double steering wheel of a friend

"We played together with Rybakina, she is a very good girl, and I am glad that she is doing well"

— Now a lot of Russian tennis players accept foreign sports citizenship. Have such offers been made to you and how do you feel about such a fad?

— No, I haven't had any such offers. And I don't want to comment on this topic.

— Then let's talk about the new great rivalry that has formed in recent years at the top of women's tennis: Arina Sobolenko — Elena Rybakina. Who are you in it for? And do you think it's going to take a long time?

— First of all, I am glad that they are both Russian speakers. I know Lena a little better, because we played together for a long time in 2021, until she decided to focus on singles. They even played the final in Adelaide, the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. That is, we spent a lot of time and trained together. Lena has always impressed me, she is a very good girl. I'm glad she's doing well, she's the second best in the world. I know Arina a little worse, but I like them both. I'm glad they're doing well.

— What do you think about the development of Mirra Andreeva? Did the blurry ending of last year raise any doubts and is the pressure of early and high expectations putting pressure on her?

— I don't know what she's going through, I haven't talked to her so deeply about this topic. But I can imagine it for myself. When I was 17 years old and I broke into the top 30, I played the Indian Wells semifinals, it was very difficult for me to cope with the pressure. Back then, it was still unfashionable to have psychologists, I was afraid to say that I had a fear of losing. In terms of attitude to pressure, it was a different time.

It's very hard to deal with it, even when you're over 30. And she's very young, such a little person. I think she's doing great anyway. Yes, she had some failed tournaments, but Mirra still finds strength and wins titles. Now in Linz, for example. She's staying afloat anyway, and that's great.

— None of the current generation of Russian tennis players can come close to Maria Sharapova yet. Do you think she really had so much more talent than the others, or was there some special attitude to work, physical abilities, or some other factors?

— It's hard to say. I think she called herself talented. I have always noted her character and willpower. In my eyes, she was a real fighter, and I admired that. A champion character! I think that's also why she won so much.

I can't call her talented, haha. That would be stupid. She's one hundred percent talented. Maybe, compared to the same Serena, some aspects of her were worse in terms of tennis. But mentally, Sharapova was very strong.