“I tried to run like a rabbit because Aryna Sabalenka was sending bullets (across the net), and it was hard,” said Mirra Andreeva, who overturned a set deficit to topple the World No. 1 to lift her second straight WTA 1000 title at the Indian Wells Masters. On Sunday, March 16, the teen tennis phenom produced a composed and clinical performance to send the Belarusian star packing in a three-set finale 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 as the Californian desert crowd roared in mere disbelief and all cheers. Not only did Andreeva earn brownie points on the tour, but she also recorded the first of many feats. At just 17, she has laudably matched records only held by two of the greatest women players the sport has ever seen.

Andreeva – wearing a training tape on her right shoulder – improved to a 19-3 win-loss record this season, the most wins by any woman on the tour. The 17-year-old made her way to the Californian desert after she conquered the Polish No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Kazakh Elena Rybakina en route to her maiden WTA 1000 title finish at the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier in February. Beating Rybakina and Swiatek again and then Sabalenka in the Tennis Paradise, the Russian sensation registered her fifth consecutive victory over a top-10 rival, extending a 9-5 record over players ranked that high since the start of the 2024 season.

After firing one last forehand winner to cap the showdown against Sabalenka and dropping to knees, a laughing Andreeva spoke to the crowd during the trophy presentation, citing a Snoop Dogg-inspired speech: “I’d like to thank myself – for fighting until the end, for always believing and for never quitting.”

With back-to-back top 2 wins, Andreeva is now the second-youngest player in the history of the WTA to outclass the World No. 1 (Sabalenka) and World No. 2 (Swiatek) at the same tournament. This mirrored an achievement held only by a younger player, Tracy Austin, who actually did it twice as a 16-year-old in 1979 at the US Open and Filderstadt.

Not to be outdone, the way she conquered the desert was even more historic. Andreeva became the third-youngest woman to lift the Indian Wells trophy after Martina Hingis in 1998 and Serena Williams in 1999. Moreover, she is also the youngest player to win a WTA title by defeating the No. 1 since Maria Sharapova downed Lindsay Davenport in Tokyo in 2005.

This invited an endearing reaction from fans who marveled at the Russian player.

Fans put Mirra Andreeva on the ‘GOAT’ trajectory following the Indian Wells feat

Mirra Andreeva has been tipped as the next superstar ever since bursting on the scene as a 15-year-old at the Madrid Open in 2023. Though she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight there, the young talent is all for exacting revenge and collecting wins this season. After she recorded her elusive feat in the Californian desert, fans immediately took to X and expressed their heartfelt thoughts on her latest achievement.

One fan projected Andreeva to “be the third of the greatest players of all time. Her future is shining bright,” while another highlighted that it is a “great win for the 17yr in the same company as Serena & Martina Hingis at such a young age.” One netizen praised the 17-year-old for joining the “elite company,” outlining that “if history repeats itself, Mirra is on a GOAT trajectory.”

For the unversed, American legend Serena Williams made history by becoming the youngest player ever to lift the Indian Wells title, beating Steffi Graf 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Andreeva is the youngest to replicate the feat in the Californian desert ever since.

One fan claimed that Andreeva “is going to absolutely annihilate women’s tennis for the next decade,” while another noted that “Greatness is just around the corner … baby goat is coming for us.” And her recent results do all the talking for her.

Andreeva commenced the 2025 season with a semifinal finish against Sabalenka in Brisbane, and despite not impressing much in the first Grand Slam of the year, exiting in the fourth round, the teenage sensation has been on an all-time high since her Dubai Championships victory. On Monday, Andreeva will rise to a career-high of sixth in rankings.

She’ll next head to Miami where, should she emerge victorious, she would become the youngest player – male or female – in the Open Era to complete the Sunshine Double in the same year. And, mind you again, she’s only 17!