Think of the greatest teens in the history of tennis. Now add Mirra Andreeva’s name to that list.
Yes, the 19-year-old from Russia was that impressive this week at Indian Wells. And on Sunday, she capped a sensational week where she didn’t drop a single set against the top players in the world en route to becoming the first teenager to capture a WTA Finals title since 2004.
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The 7-5, 6-3 win over Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina displayed a ton of poise and precision. Andreeva saved three break points to avoid giving Svitolina momentum in the first set. Then, after Svitolina won the next two games to tie the score, 5-5, Andreeva went up a break and carried the momentum to serve out the set.
Not putting Andreeva away seemed to frustrate Svitolina, who has been recently vocal about the challenges of playing her best tennis in years amid the ongoing conflict with Russia at home. She seemed to momentarily lose focus as she immediately fell behind a break to start the second set.
Still, the 32-year-old regained her composure and broke back to even the second set with much of the more than 7,000 inside Stadium 2 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden cheering behind her.
Mirra Andreeva reacts to winning the first set against Elina Svitolina during the FAGE WTA Finals championship at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026.
Down a double break, Svitolina broke back at 4-3, hanging on in the longest game of the match.
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But Andreeva continued to apply pressure and hung on to close out the set and the match.
With Sunday’s win, Andreeva wins $1.64 million. For the total week, she takes home $3.37 million. By comparison, Aryna Sabalenka won $1,151,380 million earlier this year for winning the BNP Paribas Open.
Also with the win, Andreeva becomes the first teenager since Maria Sharapova 22 years ago to win this event, which is being held at Indian Wells for the first time. The event is set to be hosted by Charlotte, North Carolina next year.
Andreeva is just one of nine teenagers to win the annual end-of-year WTA event, joining Chris Evert (1972), Tracy Austin (’80), Steffi Graf (’87), Gabriela Sabatini (’88), Monica Seles (’90-92), Martina Hingis (’98), Kim Clijsters (’02) and Sharapova (’04).
Indian Wells continues to be a place where Andreeva has found success. She won the BNP Paribas Open WTA 1000 event here last year as a 17-year-old, in March 2025. She is 7-2 all-time at that event.
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Sunday’s win concludes her best season on the WTA Tour, winning her first Grand Slam this year at Roland Garros, becoming the youngest to win the Paris event since Seles, in 1992.
Andreeva also reached her highest ranking last month (No. 3) and became the youngest player to rank inside the top three since Sharapova in 2005.
This week at Indian Wells, Andreeva was 5-0 against the field, without losing a single set, with each match being against a top 10 player. She beat Svitolina, Sabalenka and alternate Diana Shnaider, who replaced Karolina Muchova, in the tournament’s group stage. She then beat Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.
Andrew John covers sports and recreation in the Coachella Valley at The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com. Find him on Instagram at @desertwriter.
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Andrew John covers sports and recreation in the Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com. Find him on Instagram @desertwriter.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Mirra Andreeva makes history, defeats Elina Svitolina at WTA Finals
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
