Mirra Andreeva becomes the youngest WTA 1000 champion

A dream run in Dubai over a week has landed the 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva the biggest title of her career so far. Across the week, Andreeva served past three Grand Slam champions, including Iga Swiatek in the quarter-final and Elena Rybakina in the semi-final. The ultimate match-up pitted the Russian against Clara Tauson, who had beaten World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the final in Dubai. However, Andreeva kept up her red-hot form to topple Tauson and collect her first-ever WTA 1000 title. Andreeva emerged on the scene when she entered the semi-final of Roland Garros in 2024 at just 16 years old. Announcing her abilities right off the bat, the Russian has now broken into the Top 10 of the WTA Rankings.

In a clash between players who were both aiming for their maiden WTA 1000 title, Mirra Andreeva outperformed Clara Tauson. On their way to the final in Dubai, Andreeva and Tauson fought off Swiatek, Rybakina, Sabalenka, and Muchova, respectively. A thrilling spectacle was anticipated when the stunners were set to collide in the ultimate showdown. The spectacle was delivered as Andreeva overcame the 38th-ranked Clara Tauson, 7-6, 6-1, over the course of an hour and 16 minutes. With the victory, Mirra Andreeva became the youngest-ever champion at a WTA 1000 tournament since the inception of the format in 2009.

"I've been dreaming of having a press conference with a [WTA 1000] trophy by my side, so finally, it happened," Andreeva said in her press conference. "But I saw winners drinking a glass of champagne. It's a pity that I'm still 17," she gleefully added.

She's a teenage sensation 🤩

Mirra Andreeva defeats Tauson 7-6(1), 6-1 to be crowned champion in Dubai!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/BvBZTanYYP

— wta (@WTA) February 22, 2025

Achieving a career-high ranking and breaking into the WTA Top 10, Mirra Andreeva has already set a new goal for herself. And why not? This is just the start of the season, with the Indian Wells, Madrid Open, and Roland Garros all approaching swiftly.

"Now when you enter the Top 10 and the higher your ranking is, the slower and longer it's going to take for you to be even higher because the difference in the points is very, very short, very small," Andreeva said. "I think it's going to be hard to enter the Top 5. This is the exact goal that I'm going to set for myself—to be Top 5 by the end of the year. I'm very curious if I will be able to achieve it."