Andreeva saves all six break points to beat Svitolina on WTA Finals debut
The 19-year-old won the last seven games to beat the 2018 champion 6-4, 6-0 in 70 minutes in Indian Wells. She now leads Svitolina 2-1 and plays Aryna Sabalenka next.
Mirra Andreeva, WTA Finals 2026 | © Charles Baus/CSM/Shutterstock/SIPA
Third seed Mirra Andreeva beat sixth seed Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 in 70 minutes on Monday, winning the last seven games of her first singles match at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells.
The 19-year-old saved all six break points she faced, four of them in the final game. It was the seventh time this season that she held serve throughout a match.
“Honestly, I feel like I haven’t had a lot of Top 10 wins this season. To have [another] one finally, it feels super nice,” Andreeva told reporters. “But I’m just super happy I was able to get a win against such an experienced player.”
How Andreeva beat Svitolina
Andreeva broke for 3-2 in the first set on a Svitolina double fault. That was enough: she won 13 of her 15 first-serve points in the set, and saved a break point as she served it out at 5-4.
Svitolina did not hold serve again. Andreeva broke her three times in the second set, then saved four break points in the last game before winning on her first match point.
The Ukrainian won only 15 of her 28 first-serve points and converted none of her six break points. Andreeva took four of hers.
A rare top-10 win
Andreeva now leads Svitolina 2-1 in their head-to-head, after losing their meeting at the Australian Open in January.
Svitolina won the WTA Finals in 2018. The age gap between them, 12 years and 229 days, was the largest in a match at the event since Venus Williams played Caroline Garcia in 2017.
Andreeva has won 51 tour-level matches this season. Only Elena Rybakina, with 54, has won more. The 200 points for the win cut Sabalenka’s lead over her in the race for the year-end No. 2 ranking to 179 points.
Sabalenka next
Andreeva plays Aryna Sabalenka next. Sabalenka leads their head-to-head 4-2, but Andreeva won their last meeting, in the 2025 Indian Wells final.
After beating Svitolina, she asked her coach Conchita Martinez for extra time on the practice court. “I think it’s the very first time that I asked Conchita to go to the practice courts,” Andreeva said. “I just wanted to clean my shots. I wanted to serve a little. I just wanted to feel a bit more free on the court, and that was the purpose behind it.”
WTA Finals Group 2: provisional standings
| Player | Wins-losses | Sets | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mirra Andreeva (RUS) | 1-0 | 2-0 | 12-4 |
| 2. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) | 1-0 | 2-0 | 14-11 |
| 3. Karolina Muchova (CZE) | 0-1 | 0-2 | 11-14 |
| 4. Elina Svitolina (UKR) | 0-1 | 0-2 | 4-12 |
In the other Group 2 match on Monday, Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova 7-6 (2), 7-5. The top two reach the semi-finals on Saturday. Andreeva will play Sabalenka and Muchova in her next two matches.
