Mirra Andreeva becomes youngest Indian Wells champion since Serena Williams
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INDIAN WELLS — 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.
In the men’s final scheduled for later Sunday, the 12th-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark was to face 13th-seeded Jack Draper of Britain. Draper upset two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals on Saturday.
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.
Just shy of 1½ hours into the match, they were heading to a third set.
And 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 could barely even get her racket on.
Soon, Andreeva’s lead was 4-2 and she never faltered.
She ended the match with one last forehand winner, then dropped to her knees and covered her face with both hands.
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.
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.
The Russian 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.
Jack Draper takes men’s singles title
Jack Draper overwhelmed Holger Rune 6-2, 6-2 in a little more than an hour in the men’s singles final, achieving two big milestones by claiming his first Masters 1000 title and earning his debut in the top 10 of the ATP rankings.
Draper, a 23-year-old from Britain who was seeded 13th at the hard-court tournament in the California desert, built up a 21-7 advantage in winners against Rune while also making fewer unforced errors.
Draper’s left-handed serve was particularly important: He hit 10 aces, won 21 of his 23 first-serve points and never allowed Rune to earn a single break point.
“You never know when it’s your time,” said Draper, a U.S. Open semifinalist in September. “I lost first round here last year, so I didn’t get to experience the tournament too much. ... But I’d say this is one of my favorite tournaments now, of course.”
He will rise from No. 14 to a career-high No. 7 in the rankings on Monday.
“I feel,” Draper said, “like I deserve it.”
Rune is a 21-year-old from Denmark who was seeded 12th at Indian Wells.
Their matchup was the first ATP Masters 1000 final anywhere between two men born in the 2000s and the first at Indian Wells between two aged 23 or younger since Rafael Nadal, 22, beat Andy Murray, 21, in 2009.
“Tough day for me, but I have to start with congratulating Jack,” Rune said. “You’ve been showing some incredible tennis and, for sure, you deserved to win today.”
Draper got to the final by eliminating two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.
“I wasn’t expecting this. I put in a lot of work over time,” Draper said. “I’m just so grateful and so happy to ... be able to play, my body feeling healthy and to feel great in the mind.”
