Mirra Andreeva charges past top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka to lift the Indian Wells title

The top-ranked WTA seed, Aryna Sabalenka, bore witness to the brilliance of teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva in the Indian Wells final. After her maiden WTA 1000 title victory in Dubai, Andreeva didn't allow any wait for her second title. The breakout star sank the Belarusian 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to claim her second consecutive WTA 1000 title. After her commanding run in Dubai, Indian Wells didn't welcome Andreeva with an easy draw. However, the 11th seed saw past the likes of higher-ranked Elena Rybakina and Iga Świątek to meet Sabalenka in the final and eventually claim the Indian Wells title.

Mirra Andreeva topples Aryna Sabalenka to claim the Indian Wells title

With her victory against the World No. 1, Mirra Andreeva has become the youngest player on the WTA Tour to boast a streak of 12 wins in WTA 1000 tournaments. Moreover, the 17-year-old is etched as the youngest ever in over four decades to topple the World No. 1 and World No. 2 at a WTA tournament. Her path up to the summit clash involved toppling the likes of Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina. With her victory over Svitolina, Andreeva became the youngest player to enter multiple WTA 1000 semi-finals since the inception of the format in 2009.

Moreover, before meeting Sabalenka in the final, Andreeva overcame the second-seeded Iga Swiatek in a commanding semi-final show. Leaving Swiatek without any semblance of dominance, the teenager picked up a 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 victory over the Pole, who was witnessed losing her temper at a ball boy in the fixture. Moreover, en route to the final, Andreeva notched another victory over the seventh-seeded Elena Rybakina, going 2-1 against the higher-ranked seed in their WTA head-to-head standings.

With her victory against Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva also became the youngest seed after Martina Hingis and Serena Williams to win the Indian Wells title. The teenager is now poised to claim the World No. 6 spot in the WTA standings when the rankings update after the tournament. The Indian Wells title is now registered as her third tour-level title win and second of the season following her brilliant run in Dubai. Moreover, the final marked Andreeva's first-ever victory over Aryna Sabalenka on a hard court.

the moment Mirra Andreeva became Indian Wells CHAMPION at 17-years-old! 💚#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/E9SlUVmpgA

— wta (@WTA) March 16, 2025

The Belarusian had won all their previous encounters, which came earlier this season at the Brisbane International and the Australian Open. The Belarusian came in as the favorite for the victory, even claiming the first set seamlessly against Andreeva. However, a late surge saw Andreeva hitting back-to-back aces to claim the second set. Andreeva then went on to set the tone for victory, picking up eight consecutive points to mark her charge in the third set. The victory was followed by an endearing speech by the youngster, who quoted Snoop Dogg to express her emotions.

"I would again like to thank myself for fighting until the end and for always believing in me and for never quitting," Andreeva said. "I tried to run like a rabbit today. It was really hard to just keep up, so I just tried my best, and that's why I would thank myself, because I think I played a little part also," she added.