How it happened: Andreeva wins the FAGE WTA Finals on debut without dropping a set!
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- We came to Indian Wells to see what Mirra Andreeva would do in her first FAGE WTA Finals. We’re leaving without ever seeing her play a third set. She won all five matches, took all 10 sets and finished the week with a 61-26 edge in games. And on Sunday, she beat the same player she’d opened against, this time with a trophy waiting for her at the end.
At 19, Andreeva’s 7-5, 6-3 win in 1 hours and 48 minutes against Elina Svitolina made her the youngest WTA Finals champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004. A straight-sets sweep on debut puts her in even rarer company. Chris Evert did it at the inaugural edition in 1972, and Serena Williams won three matches in straight sets in 2001 before taking the title by walkover.
Svitolina made Andreeva work for that last pair of sets. When she broke back for 5-5 in the first, she’d already gone farther in a set than anyone had against Andreeva all week. Andreeva broke right back and served it out. In the second, Svitolina saved four break points in a game that went through six deuces and took more than 10 minutes. All that work got her to 4-3. Andreeva held, then broke for the sixth time to finish the match.
“Feels amazing to be a part of this group of people [who have won here]," Andreeva said during her on-court trophy ceremony. "Super grateful for my team for pushing me to my limits when I don’t want to do anything. Thanks for fighting for me and for forcing me to do everything I need to do.
Then Andreeva turned to Svitolina, who’d made her work for longer than anyone else had all week.
“Congratulations, Elina and team, for an amazing week. You have had an amazing season, and I know it’s tough to lose in the final. You have a young daughter. You’re an amazing mom, [to] come back and do this. I wish you the best of luck for the next season.
“The last person I want to thank is myself. I want to thank myself for always doing the hard work and never quitting, and for not taking the days off and for committing to what I need to do.”
A few more numbers worth keeping
26 games conceded: Since round-robin play returned in 2003, only Iga Swiatek has given up fewer games on the way to the title. She lost 20 in 2023.
28 break points between them: If the score looked straightforward, there’s your counterargument. Andreeva saved nine of the 12 she faced and converted six of her 16 chances.
55 wins: Andreeva came into the final tied with Elena Rybakina and finished with the most tour-level match wins this season. Her fourth title of the year, after Adelaide, Linz and Roland Garros, also tied Rybakina for the tour lead.
No. 13 to No. 2: That’s where Andreeva started and where she’ll finish a season that brought her first major title at Roland Garros and her first WTA Finals title at Indian Wells.
If you missed any of it, it’s all below, from the long rally on the first point to Andreeva running over to her mom and the rest of her team after the last.
