Mirra Andreeva beats Aryna
Sabalenka at Indian Wells. Jack Draper wins the men's title
[March 17, 2025]
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva
came back 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 tournament's
youngest champion since Serena Williams in 1999.
The 11th-ranked Andreeva improved to 19-3 this season — the most
wins by a woman on tour — and collected her second Masters 1000
title of 2025. The other came at Dubai in February, which earned her
a top-10 ranking for the first time. Andreeva will return to that
upper tier in Monday's WTA rankings.
Revisiting a theme from her Dubai victory speech that referred to
something rapper Snoop Dogg said when he received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, Andreeva told Sunday's crowd: “I would again
like to thank myself for fighting until the end and for always
believing in me and for never quitting.”
“I tried to run like a rabbit today,” Andreeva continued, praising
the way Sabalenka hit speedy shots. “It was really hard to just keep
up, so I just tried my best and that’s why I would thank myself,
because I think I played a little part (in the win), also.”
In the men’s final later Sunday, 13th-seeded Jack Draper of Britain
defeated 12th-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark 6-2, 6-2 to earn his
first Masters 1000 championship. Draper, who is 23, upset two-time
defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals on Saturday.
The left-handed Draper, a U.S. Open semifinalist in September,
improved to 13-2 this year and will make his debut in the ATP's top
10 on Monday.
When she dropped the first set against three-time Grand Slam title
winner Sabalenka, Andreeva put her body into the windup after
grabbing a ball, then angrily smacked it toward the stands.
Andreeva — wearing training tape on her right shoulder — played much
better in the second set, particularly on serve, while compiling a
17-7 edge in winners. Soon enough, that set belonged to her when she
hit an ace to hold at love for the first time all day.
In the third set, the teenager got started in the best way possible,
breaking the big-serving Sabalenka at love. Andreeva took a 1-0 lead
in the third with a too-strong passing shot that Sabalenka, a
26-year-old from Belarus, could barely even get her racket on.
Andreeva ended the match with one last forehand winner, then dropped
to her knees and covered her face with both hands.
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Jack Draper, of Britain, holds the winner's trophy at the BNP
Paribas Open tennis tournament Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Indian
Wells, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
This was her fifth consecutive victory over a top-10 opponent, and
Andreeva is now 9-5 against players ranked that high since the start
of 2024. That includes two victories each over Sabalenka and No. 2
Iga Swiatek, the five-time major champion who lost to Andreeva in
the semifinals at Indian Wells.
“Congrats on an incredible run,” Sabalenka said during the trophy
ceremony. “Great tournament. Great tennis.”
Andreeva is the first player under age 18 to beat the women ranked
No. 1 and No. 2 at the same WTA tournament since Williams defeated
Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis at the 1999 U.S. Open.
She is also the youngest to win a WTA trophy by defeating the woman
ranked No. 1 in a final since Maria Sharapova beat Davenport at
Tokyo in 2005.
Afterward, Andreeva joked about her prematch behavior with her
coach, 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez.
“I know I was, as you like to say, a little brat, a little bit, in
the morning,” Andreeva said. “That’s because I was super nervous.
I’m sorry for that.”
Sabalenka also lost the 2023 final in the California desert and made
light of that on Sunday when she was handed her glass hardware for
being the runner-up — a similar but much smaller version of what the
champion receives.
“I have a love-hate relationship with this place," Sabalenka said.
“I’ll just put this trophy on top of another one and pretend it’s
the trophy for winning.”
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