Teen Andreeva rallies back to clinch title, beats World No. 1 Sabalenka

Russian teen sensation Mirra Andreeva rallied back to daze world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the women’s singles final to Indian Wells on Monday, winning her second WTA 1000-level event in succession to keep her charmed year on track.
The 17-year-old Andreeva, the youngest women’s champion at the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999, found her form midway through the match and crumpled to the ground in celebration after closing it out with a forehand winner.
Top seed Sabalenka pulled herself out of a slump to bring some of her best tennis to the California desert this year and got off to a good start but her form unravelled as the match wore on and she was left to rue missed opportunities.
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“I would like to thank myself for fighting until the end and for always believing in me and for never quitting,” Andreeva said at the trophy ceremony. “I was running like a rabbit today because Aryna, she’s been sending bullets and it was really hard to just keep up.”

Andreeva had lost to Sabalenka twice this year and it looked as though the pattern would continue as the top-seeded Belarusian mixed some nifty drop shots with her usual forehand power to save four break points in the third game.
Sabalenka sent a backhand winner down the line to break in the fourth game and four games later a visibly frustrated Andreeva whacked a ball into the stands after sending a shot into the net as the Russian was broken again.

the moment Mirra Andreeva became Indian Wells CHAMPION at 17-years-old! #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/E9SlUVmpgA
— wta (@WTA) March 16, 2025
The teenager got a confidence boost in the second set; however, when she broke Sabalenka with a forehand winner in the third game, she fended off two break points in the sixth.
After trading breaks to open the third set, Sabalenka’s errors began to pile up and she fired into the net on break point in the third game to give the ninth seed the advantage.Story continues below this ad
MORE AGGRESSIVE
“After the first set, I just realised, that, ‘oh, well, what I do now, it doesn’t work, so I have to change something’,” Andreeva told reporters.
“In the second set, I tried to play a little bit more aggressive. I didn’t try to over hit her, because I don’t think anyone can over hit Aryna, because she’s a super-powerful player.
“I tried to really, I don’t know, create something to make her uncomfortable, and, you know, point–point, game–game, I managed to do that.”
Gracious in defeat, 2023 runner-up Sabalenka brought her trademark sense of humour to the trophy ceremony while holding onto the petite consolation prize.Story continues below this ad
“I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this place. I’ll just put this trophy on top of another one and pretend it’s the trophy for the winning,” said Sabalenka.
(With inputs from Reuters)