World No. 11 Mirra Andreeva captured her second consecutive WTA 1000 title after toppling World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the BNP Paribas Open. 

The 17-year-old phenom rallied from a set down to win her 12th straight match, after winning her first WTA 1000 title last month at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Andreeva is the youngest player to notch 12 consecutive WTA 1000 wins since the format's inception in 2009.

Andreeva is the youngest player in the last 40 years to defeat World No. 1 and No. 2 in a WTA event. In the semifinals, Andreeva ended two-time champion and No. 2 Iga Swiatek's title defense, beating the Pole for the second time in as many tournaments. 

Indian Wells is Andreeva's third career title and second of the season. Two of her three titles have now come at the WTA 1000 level and she is set to rise to career high No. 6 on the PIF WTA Rankings on Monday. She leaves Indian Wells as the outright tour leader in wins this season with 19.

"I would again like to thank myself for fighting until the end and for always believing in me and for never quitting," Andreeva said on her on-court speech, referencing a quote from rapper Snoop Dogg. 

"I tried to run like a rabbit today. 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 also."

Andreeva is the third-youngest Indian Wells champion, after Martina Hingis in 1998 and Serena Williams in 1999. To win the title, Andreeva came through a remarkably difficult draw. In addition to her back-to-back wins over No. 1 and No. 2, she defeated Varvara Gracheva, 22nd seed Clara Tauson in a rematch of the Dubai final, 7th seed Elena Rybakina, and 23rd seed Elina Svitolina.

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'I would like to thank me': Mirra Andreeva's charming Indian Wells speech

Andreeva came into her first Indian Wells final looking for her first win on hard court over Sabalenka. The World No. 1 won all four of their previous hard-court duels, including two in January at the Brisbane International and Australian Open. 

A finalist in 2023, Sabalenka needed just 36 minutes to pocket the opening set. Andreeva earned the first chance to take control of the set, earning a break point in the third game of the match, but Sabalenka saved it with a deft move to the net to clean up a tricky volley. 

Having dodged Andreeva's early surge, Sabalenka raced away. She broke Andreeva immediately in the next game and lost just one more game in the set to seal it. 

Andreeva finally broke through in the second set. After going 0 for 18 on break points against Sabalenka this season, she ended that drought with an outstanding return game, sealed with a clean forehand winner to lead 2-1. Under pressure to maintain her lead, Andreeva saved two break points -- from a 0-30 deficit to move ahead 4-2. She sealed the set with a perfect service game, firing back-to-back aces to take her first set off Sabalenka on a hard court. 

"In the second set, I tried to play a little bit more aggressive," Andreeva said. "I didn't try to overhit her, because I don't think anyone can overhit Aryna, because she's a super-powerful player.

"I tried to really, I don't know, create something to make her uncomfortable, and, you know, point by point, game by game, I managed to do that."

Andreeva's surge continued in the third set, she took her tally to eight consecutive points to break Sabalenka at love to lead 1-0. After Sabalenka looked prime to mount a comeback by breaking back to 1-1, Andreeva sealed another break and consolidated to lead 3-1. She protected her lead through the tape to earn her first career win over a reigning World No. 1.

"Honestly, was me against me," Sabalenka said. "I made a lot of unforced errors on important points, and I just let her play a little bit better. At the beginning, everything was going quite straightforward, and then I just made a couple mistakes. She kind of like believed in herself. After that, I started playing much worse, and I was just trying to find my rhythm back but didn't work this time." 

Andreeva is the youngest player to beat a World No. 1 in a completed match since 2008 and the youngest to do so in a WTA final since Maria Sharapova defeated Lindsay Davenport to win 2005 Tokyo. She is also the youngest to win back-to-back WTA 1000 or Tier 1 tournaments since Martina Hingis in 1997.

The tour now turns its eyes on the fourth WTA 1000 tournament of the season at the Miami Open, which begins on Tuesday, March 18 at Hard Rock Stadium.