Seventeen-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva clinched her second WTA 1000 title at Indian Wells, defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. This victory followed Andreeva’s recent win in Dubai, making her the youngest player to earn a 1000-level title. After a challenging start, Andreeva regained her momentum, breaking Sabalenka three times in the final set to improve her 2025 record to 19-3. Sabalenka, who had advanced to the final without dropping a set, expressed frustration over her performance, acknowledging her unforced errors. Andreeva’s win marks her first hard court victory against Sabalenka.
Seventeen-year-old Russian star Mirra Andreeva brought down world number one Aryna Sabalenka with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday, securing her second WTA 1000 title at Indian Wells. Just last month, Andreeva made history as the youngest player to win an elite 1000 level title with her victory in Dubai, and with this win, she will achieve a career-high ranking of sixth in the world on Monday. After struggling in the first set, Andreeva broke Sabalenka three times in the third, bringing her 2025 record to an impressive 19-3 — the best win count of any woman on the WTA tour.
“I want to thank myself for fighting until the end,” Andreeva commented. “I was running like a rabbit today because Aryna was hitting bullets, and it was really tough to keep up.”
The match featured dramatic shifts in momentum, but by the end, Andreeva was in command, earning a match point on Sabalenka’s serve with a defensive lob that forced a misfire from the number one, closing out the victory with a forehand winner.
“On match point, I just aimed to get the return in, no matter how,” she explained to Tennis Channel. “Then I spotted the ball and decided to go for it.”
“And I did,” Andreeva added, dropping to her knees in celebration after her winner fell in.
This victory marks Andreeva’s first hard court win against Sabalenka, who had previously defeated her twice this year, including at Brisbane and the Australian Open.
Sabalenka reached the final without losing a set but faced another setback as she was unexpectedly defeated by Madison Keys in the final at Melbourne, ending her quest for a third consecutive Australian Open title.
Unlike her performance in Melbourne, where she played “like a joke,” Sabalenka admitted that this time her emotions affected her game.
“Honestly, it was me against myself,” she said. “I committed numerous unforced errors during critical moments, and I allowed her to play slightly better … I was just too frustrated with myself because I didn’t think I should have finished this way, and I was really upset with myself.”
“I should have channeled that aggression in a more constructive way instead of being hard on myself.”
Andreeva put Sabalenka under pressure early in the match, but the young player’s frustration was palpable as she failed to convert four break points in the third game.
Sabalenka capitalized on this, breaking Andreeva to love for a 3-1 lead and maintaining her control from that point onward.
Anger boiling
Sabalenka complemented her powerful baseline game with assertive net play, breaking Andreeva to take the first set in just 37 minutes.
“The frustration was boiling inside me because I had many opportunities that I didn’t convert,” said Andreeva, who squandered yet another three break points at the start of the second set.
Eventually, she secured a break for 2-1, capitalizing on a Sabalenka second serve, finishing a streak of 18 missed break point chances against the Belarusian this year.
“I was desperate to win at least one game on her serve … every time she served, I focused on winning just one more game, then another,” Andreeva shared. “Somehow, I managed to fight my way back, and we got to the third set this way.”
Andreeva saved a couple of break points to extend her lead to 4-2, as her confidence and number of winners continued to rise.
After failing to convert a chance to take the set on Sabalenka’s serve, Andreeva clinched the set with her first love service game, featuring a pair of aces.
Continuing her momentum, she broke Sabalenka to love to start the third set.
Although Sabalenka broke back quickly, it proved to be just a minor interruption as Andreeva broke again for a 2-1 lead and faced no further break points.
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