The Future is Now and Mirra Andreeva Rules the WTA

Mirra Andreeva has won back-to-back Masters tournaments at the age of 17, and her opponents should be scared.

Mirra Andreeva defeated Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to win the women's championship title of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., on Sunday, March 16, 2025. / Taya Gray/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The human mind naturally creates stories and narratives when processing information. There are plenty of scientific reasons for that trait, which is only reinforced in modern times by traditional media and social media.

When it comes to women's tennis, it is time to throw out all preconceived ideas we had about the future of the WTA.

Entering this season, we told ourselves that Aryna Sabalenka would rule the hard courts and Iga Swiatek would continue to dominate on clay. There would be other top players capable of knocking off the top two, but the gulf was pretty wide.

That is no longer the case. Mirra Andreeva is not just disrupting the future of tennis; she is shaking up our current reality. Andreeva has won back-to-back WTA 1000 Masters events in stunning fashion.

In less than a month, the 17-year-old has defeated Swiatek twice, Elena Rybakina twice, and knocked off a determined World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to complete her sweep of the Dubai Tennis Championships and the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Andreeva became the third-youngest female champion after Martina Hingis in 1998 and Serena Williams in 1999. She is also the youngest woman since Hingis in 1997 to win consecutive WTA 1000 events.

Andreeva's skills are obviously otherwordly someone who is still legally considered a minor. Even better, her youth is working to her advantage in her mental approach to the game.

She does not carry the mental and emotional scar tissue that burns out so many players. Swiatek flamed out during her semifinal match to a much calmer Andreeva. Sablenka spoke about Andreeva's advantages in her post-match press conference.

"She got the right team much earlier, and that's why she's so successful right now. So it's nice to see that there is players who is able to surround," said Sabalenka while lamenting her mistakes as a much younger player.

In addition to having her family close by, Andreeva has found a great coach in Conchita Martínez. Andreeva credited her tight-knit circle, "I can say that the whole team is being super protective.

I think that because I have such an experienced coach, as well, she also helps me a lot with, you know, she gives me advices, you know, how to play and also how to maybe not to spend too much time on-site or how not to waste your energy."

After Indian Wells, Andreeva rose five spots in the WTA Rankings to claim the World No. 5 spot. She literally (and symbolically) leaped over Paula Badosa, Emma Navarro, Qinwen Zheng, Rybakina, and Jasmine Paolini.

We are just over halfway through March, and Andreeva already has a record of 19-3 with two singles titles. When asked about her favorite surface, Andreeva gave an answer that probably gave chills to every other play on tour.

"I can say that I have no idea what my favorite surface is. I like to play on clay, I like to play on hard, I like to play on grass. So I can say that all three of them are my favorites. I can say that I like them all."

That is like the iconic horror movie villain Freddy Krueger saying he is no longer restrained to the dream world and will meet you at center court in broad daylight — at every tournament for the next 20 years.

Tennis fans and media can try to tell themselves the story that Andreeva is no longer flying under the radar and has a target on her back as she enters the Miami Open. But if we have learned anything, it's that telling ourselves the same stories is no longer useful.

It is not a matter of if but when Andreeva starts winning Grand Slams and displacing the legacies of Sabalenka and Swiatek. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.

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