INDIAN WELLS/WASHINGTON, March 17, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
Mirra Andreeva showed why her tactical brilliance is off the charts. On Sunday afternoon, with maturity and composure as her allies, the 17-year-old Russian prodigy won her second straight WTA 1000 of the 2025 season by capturing the BNP Paribas Open title. The World No. 11 Andreeva’s come-from-behind 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus was her 12th-straight victory – and it marked her fifth straight triumph over a Top-10 opponent.
Andreeva’s 19th win of the season, which she completed in two hours and four minutes before a capacity crowd of over 16,000 fans on Stadium 1 at the Indian Wells Tennis Center, is the most of any player on the WTA Tour. Her Indian Wells title – the third WTA crown of her nascent career – comes just three weeks after she won her first WTA 1000 title at Dubai. She’s the youngest player to garner 12 consecutive WTA 1000 wins since the format’s inception in 2009.
Pure joy
Mirra Andreeva | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/gfUbhvYuFr
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2025
After a sluggish start at the beginning of the Indian Wells title match, in which Sabalenka broke to go ahead 3-1 and won the opening set after winning 20 of the final 30 points, Andreeva turned things around against the two-time Australian Open champion and 18-time WTA titlist. She curbed her temper, went to work and won most – if not all – of the biggest points during the final two sets.
By the end, Andreeva had struck 30 winners to 20 unforced errors, compared to 23 winners and 24 unforced errors by Sabalenka. She converted four of 13 break points and saved three of six she faced from the Belarusian. Andreeva outpointed her opponent 91-83.
“I’d like to thank myself,” Andreeva, the first player under age 18 since Serena Williams at the 1999 US Open to defeat a World No. 1 and No. 2 player in back-to-back matches, said during her trophy remarks, beaming a big smile. “For fighting til the end and always believing in me. For never quitting. I tried to run like a rabbit today because Aryna was sending bullets.”
Mirra Andreeva is the first player under the age of 18 since Serena Williams (1999 US Open) to defeat a World No. 1 and No. 2 back-to-back.#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/c4t85QthrV
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2025
Later, during a sit-down interview with Tennis Channel, Andreeva said: “Honestly, after the first set, when she just literally left me, no chance, I went to have a toilet break. I tried to think what to change, and then I looked at myself in the mirror. I just tried to keep it positive, even though it was super hard because I felt like she was always always pressuring me and I didn’t really stand a chance.
“But, then, in the end, I’m super proud of myself that I managed to push and win the match.”
The Mirra Movement ✨
Mirra Andreeva is your women’s singles champion! #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/WDmCgbnypU
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2025
During her post-match news conference, Sabalenka, who lost the 2023 Indian Wells final, took her second title defeat at Tennis Paradise in stride.
“I enjoyed every day here,” she said. “Yeah, it felt like, yeah, two weeks of paradise, and I’m actually really sad leaving this place, and especially after this final.
“Not really happy, first of all, with leaving, and secondly with the result. But it is how it is. Anyway, happy with the tennis I played before the finals.”
Sabalenka was asked by a reporter if anything Andreeva did surprised her.
“No, not really. Honestly, was me against me. I mean, I made a lot of unforced errors on important points, and I just let her play a little bit better,” said Sabalenka, whose 2025 win-loss record dropped to 17-4. She’s 15-6 lifetime at Indian Wells.
“Yeah, at the beginning, everything was going quite straightforward, and then I just made a couple mistakes. She kind of like believed in herself. After that, I started playing much worse, and I was just trying to find my rhythm back but didn’t work this time.”
the moment Mirra Andreeva became Indian Wells CHAMPION at 17-years-old! #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/E9SlUVmpgA
— wta (@WTA) March 16, 2025
En route, Andreeva defeated Varvara Gracheva of France; No. 22 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark; 2023 champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, seeded seventh; No. 23 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine; two-time champion and No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland; and top seed Sabalenka. She also beat Swiatek, Rybakina and Tauson in the final three rounds at Dubai.
With her Indian Wells title wrapped up, Andreeva will make her Top-10 debut at No. 6 on Monday – the youngest Top-10 debut since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007.
Around the Indian Wells Tennis Garden
• Mirra Andreeva, Sunday’s champion, not only takes home 1,000 WTA Ranking points but also collects first-prize money of $1,127,500 – one of the largest payouts on the WTA Tour outside of the four Grand Slams. Aryna Sabalenka, the runner-up, will earn 650 WTA Ranking points and $599,625.
• Total attendance at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for the 2025 BNP Paribas Open reached 504,268 fans – a record number for the ATP/WTA 1000 combined event.
By the numbers
At age 17, Mirra Andreeva becomes the third youngest woman to win the BNP Paribas Open after Martina Hingis in 1998 and Serena Williams in 1999.
“Quotable …”
“I know that Monica Seles and Martina Hingis, they won a lot of tournaments and a lot of titles while they were still teenagers. Of course, I know that they have been playing great, and I try to be at the same level, but tennis has changed a lot, and now I cannot imagine me winning eight Slams at 17 years old.
“It’s impossible. I try to not really think about it, because after, I can start to overthink, I can start to compare myself, and then I don’t think that it’s going to lead me to any good. I know what they have done. Okay, good for them. But I try not to think about them and try to focus on what to do with my career.”
– Mirra Andreeva, 17, of Russia, on becoming the fifth woman to reach the BNP Paribas Open final before turning 18.
