At just 18 years old, Mirra Andreeva has made history by becoming the youngest woman ever to reach a WTA 1000 final, following a hard-fought victory over former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. In a thrilling match, the Russian, seeded No. 12, triumphed 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, securing her place in the Dubai final where she will face Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
This achievement catapults Andreeva into the record books as the youngest-ever woman to reach a WTA 1000 final since the tournament’s inception in 2009. Furthermore, Andreeva is now the first player in history to defeat three Grand Slam champions at the same event since Maria Sharapova accomplished the feat in 2004 at the WTA Finals. Prior to her win over Rybakina, the rising star had already made waves by overcoming former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round and ousting five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals.
Sharapova’s impressive run in 2004 included victories over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Myskina, and Serena Williams at the year-end championships in Los Angeles, an achievement that Andreeva has now matched in a new era.
Reflecting on her monumental win, Andreeva admitted that she was initially uncertain about her chances heading into the Dubai tournament. “Honestly, it’s crazy because, at first, I was not very positive before coming to Dubai,” she shared after defeating Rybakina. “I was like, okay, well, I’m just going to play. Last time we played, it was a really tough match… She went for her shots and killed me in the end. This time I knew she’d hit hard. I tried to fight for every point and kept believing. I just tried to accept when things didn’t go my way. I fought for every point, and in the end, it went my way. When you don’t think about what’s going to happen, it always ends up being one of the best tournaments of your career. I don’t know if it’s a paradox or something, but it’s just like this.”
Andreeva’s journey to the Dubai final marks her second tour-level final appearance. Her first came at last year’s Lasi Open, where she clinched the title with a win over Elina Avanesyan in the final.
Before their clash, Rybakina had acknowledged Andreeva’s potential, knowing she would present a significant challenge. “She has nothing to lose. I think she was playing very well in the tournament. She’s very dangerous. She’s physically very good, very quick. I saw today, a couple of games. She was serving really well. If she plays like that, for sure it’s not easy.”
While Andreeva holds the record for the youngest woman to make it to a WTA 1000 final, she’s not the only teenager to achieve such a feat. Coco Gauff, at 19, reached the same stage two years later, eventually lifting the trophy at the Cincinnati Open after defeating Karolina Muchova.
Already, Andreeva has broken multiple records with her performance in Dubai. By defeating Swiatek in the quarter-finals, she became the youngest woman to reach the last four at the event, at just 17 years and 297 days old. Additionally, her victory over the world No. 1 also made her the youngest-ever player to defeat Swiatek, and the youngest to record five wins over top-10 players since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007, when she was 17 years and 273 days old.
Andreeva’s meteoric rise continues to turn heads, as she proves herself not only as a force to be reckoned with but also as a player who is rewriting the tennis record books.