Third-seeded Mirra Andreeva turned in a dominant performance in her WTA Finals debut on Monday, routing sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 in Indian Wells, Calif.
The match was one of two on the opening day of round-robin play in Group 2. In the other contest, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka topped seventh-seeded Karolina Muchova 7-6 (2), 7-5.
Andreeva, a 19-year-old Russian, is in the season-ending showcase for the first time after a campaign in which she earned her first major title at the French Open. She also won tournaments in Adelaide, Australia, and Linz, Austria, and she reached the final of WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Beijing.
On Monday, she saved all six break points she faced and won 88% of the points on her first serve.
“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 said. “I guess it was good that I didn’t think about it, because I feel like the less I think, the better it is. But I’m just super happy I was able to get a win against such an experienced player.”
Svitolina, a 32-year-old Ukrainian, is back at the WTA Finals for the first time since 2019. She won two tournaments this year, including the WTA 1000 event in Rome, and her best Grand Slam result of the year was a semifinal defeat at the Australian Open.
Sabalenka, a 28-year-old Belarusian, faced a stiff challenge to start her bid to reach the WTA Finals’ title match for a third time. She lost the championship match in 2022 to France’s Caroline Garcia and in 2025 to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.
Muchova was 10-0 in tiebreakers this year before Sabalenka won the final four points to claim the first set on Monday. After the players exchanged service breaks late in the second set, Sabalenka served out the 1-hour, 53-minute match.
“I was just trying to stay focused on each point, each shot probably, on that tiebreak,” Sabalenka said. “Happy with the level I was able to pull out on that tiebreak and, of course, get the win. It was very important.”
Sabalenka lost in the finals at the Australian Open and the U.S. Open this year, unable to add to her total of four major titles. She has won three tournaments this year, including consecutive WTA 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami.
Muchova, a 30-year-old Czech player, was playing her first-ever WTA Finals match. She got to the Wimbledon final this summer, and her two tournament victories this year included the WTA 1000 event at Doha, Qatar.
–Field Level Media
