Synopsis
On March 17, Mirra Andreeva won her second consecutive WTA 1000 title by defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the Indian Wells Open, marking a historic victory as she becomes the youngest champion since Serena Williams in 1999.Key Takeaways
- Mirra Andreeva secured her second WTA 1000 title.
- She defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
- Andreeva is the youngest Indian Wells champion since Serena Williams.
- She has won 12 consecutive matches in WTA 1000 tournaments.
- Andreeva is set to rise to No. 6 in WTA Rankings.
Indian Wells, March 17 (NationPress) Mirra Andreeva clinched her second consecutive WTA 1000 title after defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Indian Wells Open.
The 17-year-old Russian is now the youngest champion of the Indian Wells Open since Serena Williams in 1999, and ranks as the third youngest in the tournament's history, following Martina Hingis in 1998 and Serena.
Andreeva mounted a comeback after losing the first set to secure her twelfth consecutive victory, having previously won her inaugural WTA 1000 title last month at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. She is the youngest player to achieve 12 consecutive WTA 1000 victories since the format was established in 2009, as reported by the WTA.
In her on-court speech, Andreeva expressed her gratitude, saying, "I would like to thank myself for fighting until the end, believing in me, and never giving up. I tried to run like a rabbit today. It was incredibly challenging to keep up, but I gave it my all, and I'm grateful to myself for playing a role in this victory."
Andreeva has now become the youngest player to triumph over a World No. 1 in a WTA final since Maria Sharapova defeated Lindsay Davenport in Tokyo in 2005. She is also the third player aged 17 or younger in the past 40 years to defeat both the World No. 1 and World No. 2 in a single WTA event.
In the semifinals, Andreeva put an end to the title defense of two-time champion and No. 2 Iga Swiatek, marking her second victory against her in as many tournaments.
The Indian Wells title is the third in Andreeva's career and her second this season. With two of her three titles now at the WTA 1000 level, she is poised to achieve a career-high ranking of No. 6 on the WTA Rankings on Monday. As she departs from Indian Wells, she leads the tour with 19 victories this season.
