What were you doing when you were 17? Thinking about your next exam or maybe playing video games with your friends? That’s what most teenagers do anyway. However, the 17-year-old Russian tennis sensation has chosen a different route. She loves breaking records and recently became the third-youngest woman to win the Indian Wells title after Martina Hingis in 1998 and Serena Williams in 1999. She is also the second youngest, after Tracy Austin, to beat the World No. 2 and the World No. 1 on her way to a WTA title. But how much did these records play in her mind during the tournament?

Andreeva clinched victory from the jaws of defeat against the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, in the finals of the 2025 Indian Wells. She defeated the Belarusian star by 2-6,6-4,6-3! With her successive wins in Dubai and Indian Wells, Andreeva has now secured the longest winning streak for a player younger than 18 in two decades. Her name is all over the history books now!

When asked about these feats in the aftermath of her sensational victory, the Russin said, “Umm, I have never thought about this and didn’t know that if I win I’m going to be one of the youngest because I don’t really keep an eye on all that and I also realized that I’m number in the Live Rankings. So, didn’t know about that as well. It’s pretty nice to be in such an elite company with all those legends. So, you know, of course, it means a lot to me, but didn’t know that before you told me. So, it’s nice.“

Even in the pre-match press conference, ahead of the final, when Andreeva was asked to share her thoughts about the incredible history of teenagers in tennis, she said she had grown up watching players like Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, and she’s well aware of them winning multiple titles at a very young age. But she admitted, “I try to not really think about it, because after, I can start to overthink, I can start to compare myself, and then I don’t think that it’s going to lead me to any good.” Andreeva emphasized that she always tries to focus on what to do with her own career, rather than thinking about all those records.

Speaking of records, well, what else did Mirra Andreeva achieve after winning the title at Indian Wells? The 17-year-old has now become the youngest player to win consecutive WTA 1000 (previously known as Tier I) events since Martina Hingis in 1997. Not only that, she is also the third-youngest player to defeat the world number one in a WTA final from a set down [older only than Gabriela Sabatini (1988) and Jennifer Capriati (1991) in the past 40 years].

On Monday, Andreeva will rise to a career-high ranking (6), and this takes us back to the predictions made by the tennis legends about this young prodigy. She first came to the spotlight as a 15-year-old at the 2023 Madrid Open. The former US Open champion Andy Roddick was so impressed that he sent her a good luck message on her Grand Slam debut at the 2024 French Open. Roddick has backed her to become a world number one in the future as well. “Mirra Andreeva is going to be number one in the world at some point,” the ex-American pro said previously.

Even Maria Sharapova once stated, “She (Andreeva) has a bright future ahead of her.” After her victory against Sabalenka, the former world number one, Sharapova was, in fact, among the first ones to congratulate Andreeva on her incredible win. She heaped praise on the teenager for being “so poised” and called her win “so well deserved.”

What did Andreeva and her opponent in the final, Sabalenka, say after the match, though?

“I tried to run like a rabbit today” – Mirra Andreeva’s reaction to her hard-fought victory against Aryna Sabalenka

Before the Indian Wells final, Mirra Andreeva was trailing Sabalenka by 1-4 in the H2H record. In fact, she had lost both of their previous meetings (Brisbane and Melbourne) this season as well. And, Andreeva even acknowledged the huge gulf in H2H ahead of the final, “Yeah, the matches that we played this year didn’t really go my way. Yeah, I can say she almost killed me, especially in Melbourne. Yeah, I’m gonna try to take revenge because I still have nothing to lose,” she said in the pre-match press conference.

But what did she say, after accomplishing his mission against the ‘Tigress’? Well, sealing the victory against Sabalenka wasn’t easy, and Andreeva’s words after the match echoed that. She said, “I tried to run like a rabbit today. Because Aryna was sending bullets. It was hard just to keep up.“

However, with this victory, her confidence level has gone up as she feels she can beat even the top players on the Tour. Her goal this year was to enter the Top 10 in 2025. Now that she has already achieved that in Dubai, what’s she aiming for next?

“Kind of still trying to reach Top 5, because I haven’t yet. Also, the goal for me is try and maintain this level and try to maintain this mindset as well,” said Andreeva.

And Aryna Sabalenka? What did she have to say in the post-match interview? Well, just a few months ago, Sabalenka had predicted Andreeva’s Top 10 breakthrough. Now, after losing to her, the two-time Indian Wells runners-up said, “I have a love-hate relationship with this place. Mirra, congrats on an incredible run – great tournament and great tennis.”

Sabalenka was clearly not pleased with her performance, but can the World number 1 make a strong comeback in Miami now? What do you think?