On this Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open, youth was served and volleyed and backhanded and every other tennis stroke you can think of as 17-year-old rising star Mirra Andreeva outplayed World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka for a remarkable 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.
In the process, the talented Russian teen with a complete game and unflappable nature became the third youngest player ever to win the women’s singles title at this event and the youngest in 26 years since Serena Williams in 1999.
She has now won 12 consecutive matches, having also won her previous tournament in Dubai. She is the youngest player to win 12 Masters 1000 matches in a row since the format’s inception in 2009.
Just as she did after her win in Dubai, she gave an endearing speech during the trophy ceremony where after thanking her team and the crowd and Sabalenka, she finished by saying: ‘Last but not least, I want to thank myself,’ to a roar of laughter from the crowd. ‘I thank myself for fighting until the end and always believing in myself and for never quitting.’
It is the continuation of a remarkable run for Andreeva who turns 18 in April and has already made it inside the top 10 of the world rankings.
Andreeva not only beat Sabalenka in the final, but World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinal. Sabalenka had been 4-1 in her career against Andreeva, including a quarterfinal win in Australia.
Sabalenka from Belarus is now 0-2 in finals at Indian Wells, having also lost to Elena Rybakina in the 2023 final. It was also the second heart-breaking loss in 2025 as she fell in the Australian Open final to Madison Keys. She was gunning for her eighth Masters 1000 title to go with three Grand Slam wins.
But as always, despite her disappointment, Sabalenka was gracious in defeat, joking that when she got home she would stack her two second-place trophies on top of each other to make one first-place trophy.
A full Stadium 1 on a perfect Southern California weather day was treated to a high-level match with tons of winners, creative play and passion from both women mixing extreme power with occasional deft touch.
A break at love in the fourth game of the first set was enough for Sabalenka to get control of the first set, and she finished it off with a second break of Andreeva to win 6-2 as Andreeva hit an uncharacteristic unforced error on the final point.
When the 17-year-old’s shot went into the net, she showed some frustration by launching the ball high into the sky and into the upper deck. But she proved to be unbothered by the setback.
Andreeva kept putting pressure on Sabalenka’s serve and finally broke through with a break in the third game of the second set. Both players held serve the rest of the way for a 6-4 Andreeva win, which she capped with two straight aces.
The third set started with a bang for Andreeva. After failing on 8 of 9 break points in the first two sets, she broke Sabalenka at love in the first game to start the final set on the right foot.
Sabalenka broke right back, but the rest of the set belonged to Andreeva. She broke Sabalenka twice more for the 6-3 win, touching off a celebration with a winner down the line.
She fell to her knees in disbelief. Sabalenka was disconsolate on the baseline.
And here is more from the ‘youngest-ever’ department for Andreeva.
She became the youngest player to beat the World No. 1 in a completed match since Tamira Paszek beat Ana Ivanovic in 2008. And the youngest to do it in a championship match since 2005 when Maria Sharapova beat Lindsay Davenport in Tokyo.
She is only the third player under 18 years old in the last 40 years to beat the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked player in the same tournament.
She is the youngest player to be in back-to-back to Masters 1000 finals, much less win them.
Youngest women to play in BNP Paribas Open final
1991: Monica Seles (17 years, 91 days) — Lost
1998: Martin Hingis (17 years, 166 days) — Won
1999: Serena Williams (17 years, 169 days ) — Won
2001: Kim Clijsters (17 years, 283 days) — Lost
2025: Mirra Andreeva (17 years, 301 days) — Won
