Mirra Andreeva became the youngest-ever WTA 1000 finalist after she managed to beat Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals of the 2025 Dubai Championships.
Andreeva is one of the most talented players on the WTA Tour, and she’s the most successful teenager since Coco Gauff. The Russian player is still only 17, but she has already managed to reach the final of the WTA 1000 event.
She has been playing some incredible tennis in Dubai. The 17-year-old player bested Elina Avanesyan, Marketa Vondrousova, Peyton Stearns, and even Iga Swiatek to reach the semi-finals of the event.
Her semi-final opponent was Elena Rybakina, who also entered the match in great form. She beat Paula Badosa and Sofia Kenin in her previous two matches.
The two met once in 2023, and back then, the Kazakhstani player managed to win in three sets. This time, it was a three-set battle again, but with a different outcome.
Andreeva got off to an aggressive start. She worked her way to chances and used them, so after seven games, the scoreboard showed 4-3, and the teenager had a one-break advantage.
She then had to face two break points, but after saving both, the Russian teenager won the first set of the match 6-4, winning her ninth consecutive set at the event.
But her streak of sets won in Dubai came to an end in the second set. Rybakina served incredibly well. She won 82% of rallies after her first serve and didn’t face a single break point.
Thanks to that, the 2022 Wimbledon champion was able to win the second set 6-4 after breaking her opponent’s serve at 5-4 when she was trying to stay in the set.
With the second set slipping away from Andreeva, she knew she had to be at her best in the third set. But her more experienced opponent was better early on.
Rybakina won three of the first four games, leading 3-1. She had the match in her grasp, but she wasn’t able to stop an inspired comeback from her 17-year-old opponent.
Andreeva broke Rybakina’s serve not once, not twice, but three times in a row. She also held her serve twice despite facing four break points.
The teenager just won all the crucial points, and thanks to that, she was able to win this match 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, reaching her first WTA 1000 final.
She became the youngest player to reach the WTA 1000 final since this format was introduced in 2009. She also became the youngest player to beat three Grand Slam champions in one event since Maria Sharapova did it in 2004.
The teenager will play against the winner of the match between Karolina Muchova and Clara Tauson in the final, and winning in the final would guarantee her a spot in the Top 10. In case she loses in the final, Andreeva will move to the World No. 11 spot.
