Mirra Andreeva delivered an impressive comeback to beat World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and claimed her maiden WTA Indian Wells title.
The 17-year-old Russian, who recently made history by becoming the youngest winner of a WTA 1000 event in Dubai last February, secured her second straight title in the California desert with a final 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.
With this achievement, Andreeva has earned her place as the third youngest women’s champion at Indian Wells, joining Martina Hingis and Serena Williams. She accomplished the feat in two hours and six minutes, finishing with a powerful forehand to secure her win.
In a social media post, the athlete shared her win and said: “Indian Wells 25 🥰🏆 Had an amazing time in Tennis Paradise🌅 #3″
View this post on Instagram
Highlights of the match
Initially, Andreeva seemed outmatched as she quickly went 3-1 down in the first set. Sabalenka took control, stepping inside the baseline and hitting strong shots with both forehand and backhand. The World No. 1, who was then hoping to bounce back from her early losses in Dubai and Qatar, won the first set in 37 minutes.
However, Andreeva fought back in the second set, securing a crucial break in the third game after creating three break points in the first. She held onto her lead, saving two break-back chances for Sabalenka in the sixth game, and then converted her second set point to level the match.
In the third set, Andreeva showcased her resilience and kept her momentum by breaking Sabalenka in the first game, then quickly recovered after losing her own serve, breaking back to regain her advantage. She battled the top seed in intense baseline rallies and finished the deciding set in 39 minutes, sealing the victory.
In her post-match interview, the young athlete said: “Congrats to Aryna and your team… I think it’s been an amazing two weeks for you. You’ve been playing amazing tennis.”
She added: “I know I was a little brat in the morning because I was super nervous. I’m sorry for that. I don’t think I would be here without all [my team], so thank you for being by my side…. I would like to thank myself for fighting until the end and always believing in myself, and for never quitting. I had to run like a rabbit today because Aryna sent bullets, and it was really hard to keep up. That’s why I want to thank myself, because I think I played a little part also.”