Seventeen-year-old Mirra Andreeva pulled off a stunning comeback to defeat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-4 6-3, securing the second WTA 1000 title of her young career at Indian Wells. This was their third meeting of the season, but the first time the Russian managed to come out on top. With this victory, Andreeva is set to rise to a career-high world No. 6 when the new rankings are published on Monday.
Her triumph makes her the third-youngest champion in tournament history, following Martina Hingis (1998) and Serena Williams (1999). Additionally, since the WTA 1000 format was introduced in 2009, she is now the youngest player to reach multiple and consecutive finals at this level, after becoming the youngest WTA 1000 champion and new Top 10 star in Dubai last month. As the ninth seed at the BNP Paribas Open, Andreeva navigated a tough path to the title, defeating Varvara Gracheva, Clara Tauson, Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, and Iga Swiatek before overcoming Sabalenka in the final.
Despite dropping the first set and venting her frustration by sending a ball into the crowd—earning a warning from the umpire—Andreeva found her footing in the second set and looked relaxed. However, she later admitted that her composed demeanor was deceiving.
“I didn’t feel relaxed. The…
