Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva got here again to beat No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday to make the 17-year-old the match’s youngest champion since Serena Williams in 1999.
The Eleventh-ranked Andreeva improved to 19-3 this season — the most wins by a girl on tour — and picked up her second Masters 1000 title of 2025. The different got here at Dubai in February, which earned her a top-10 rating for the first time. Andreeva will return to that higher tier in Monday’s WTA rankings.
In the males’s ultimate scheduled for later Sunday, the Twelfth-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark was to face Thirteenth-seeded Jack Draper of Britain. Draper upset two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals on Saturday.
When she dropped the first set towards three-time Grand Slam title winner Sabalenka, Andreeva put her physique into the windup after grabbing a ball, then angrily smacked it towards the stands.
Andreeva — carrying coaching tape on her proper shoulder — performed a lot better in the second set, notably on serve, whereas compiling a 17-7 edge in winners. Soon sufficient, that set belonged to her when she hit an ace to maintain at love for the first time all day.
Just shy of 1 1/2 hours into the match, they had been heading to a 3rd set.
And the teenager acquired began in the greatest approach doable, breaking the big-serving Sabalenka at love. Andreeva took a 1-0 lead in the third with a too-strong passing shot that Sabalenka may barely even get her racket on.
Soon, Andreeva’s lead was 4-2 and she or he by no means faltered.
She ended the match with one final forehand winner, then dropped to her knees and lined her face with each fingers.
This was her fifth consecutive victory over a top-10 opponent, and Andreeva is now 9-5 towards gamers ranked that top since the begin of 2024. That consists of two victories every over Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek, the five-time main champion who misplaced to Andreeva in the semifinals at Indian Wells.
Andreeva is the first participant underneath age 18 to beat the ladies ranked No. 1 and No. 2 at the similar WTA match since Williams defeated Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis at the 1999 U.S. Open.
The Russian can be the youngest to win a WTA trophy by defeating the lady ranked No. 1 in a ultimate since Maria Sharapova beat Davenport at Tokyo in 2005.
Published – March 17, 2025 03:20 am IST
