Mirra Andreeva topples Aryna Sabalenka, becomes youngest Indian Wells champion in 26 years

Mirra Andreeva, 17, defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 at Indian Wells on Sunday to win her second WTA 1000 title.
Andreeva, who became the youngest player to win a 1000-level tournament in Dubai last month, overcame her previous difficulties against the Belarussian. This victory will elevate her to a career-best world ranking of sixth on Monday.
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After recovering from first set challenges, Andreeva managed to break Sabalenka's serve three times in the final set. She now holds the most wins among women on the WTA tour in 2025 with a 19-3 record.
"I would like to thank myself for fighting to the end," Andreeva said. "I was running like a rabbit today because Aryna she was sending bullets and it was really hard to keep up."

The match saw multiple momentum shifts before Andreeva took control in the final moments. She secured a match point on Sabalenka's serve with a defensive lob and won with a forehand winner.
"The match point I just really tried to just put the return in, it doesn't matter how," she told Tennis Channel. "Then I just saw the ball and I decided I might just go for it."
This victory marked Andreeva's first hard court win over Sabalenka, who had previously defeated her twice this year in Brisbane and the Australian Open.
Sabalenka, who reached the final without losing a set, faced another disappointment following her loss to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final, where she failed to secure her third consecutive title.

"Honestly, was me against me," she said. "I made a lot of unforced errors on important points, and I just let her play a little bit better ... I was just too pissed with myself, because I think it shouldn't be the way I finished and I was just pissed with myself."
Andreeva started strong but couldn't convert four break points in the third game. Sabalenka capitalised on this opportunity, breaking Andreeva's serve to take a 3-1 lead.
Sabalenka dominated the first set with powerful baseline play and net approaches, breaking Andreeva again to win the set in 37 minutes.
"The anger was just boiling inside of me, because I had a lot of opportunities I didn't convert," said Andreeva, who missed another three break points at the start of the second set.
"I was so desperate to win at least one game on her serve ... every time she served I just tried to win one more game and then one more game," Andreeva said. "Somehow I kind of crawled and came back and we got into the third set like this."

Andreeva finally broke through for a 2-1 lead in the second set, ending a streak of 18 unsuccessful break point chances against Sabalenka this year.
She maintained her lead despite facing two break points and increased her winner count as her confidence grew. After missing one set point opportunity on Sabalenka's serve, Andreeva closed the second set with her first love service game.
The Russian player continued her momentum by breaking Sabalenka's serve at the start of the third set. Although Sabalenka broke back immediately, Andreeva secured another break for a 2-1 lead.
Andreeva maintained her advantage throughout the final set, not facing any more break points en route to victory.