The 5 youngest women to beat world No 1 and 2 in same tournament: Mirra Andreeva 2nd
Mirra Andreeva stunned the tennis world with her epic triumph in Indian Wells – and she well and truly did it the hard way.
The 17-year-old defeated both Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s two best players, on her way to lifting the title.
Andreeva now joins an exclusive club of women to beat the two top-ranked players at the same tournament and is one of the youngest players to ever do that.
In total, five different players feature among the eight tournaments this has happened at the youngest age.
8) Maria Sharapova, 2006 US Open – 19 years, 4 months
This countdown starts with former world No 1 Sharapova, who was just 19 years and four months old when she won the second of her five Grand Slam titles at the US Open in 2006.
Ranked fourth in the world at the time, Sharapova defeated world No 1 Amelie Mauresmo 6-0, 4-6, 6-0 in a topsy-turvy semi-final before beating No 2 Justine Henin 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
This was the only time that the Russian defeated the world’s top two players at the same event.
7) Tracy Austin, 1981 East Rutherford Open – 19 years, 0 months
Former world No 1 Austin turned 19 days before she picked up the 29th – and penultimate – singles title of her career in East Rutherford in December 1981.
Austin thrashed world No 1 Chris Evert 6-1, 6-2 to seal her place in the final, where she rallied to beat second seed and No 2 Martina Navratilova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
This was the third and final time that Austin defeated both the world No 1 and No 2 in the same tournament.
6) Gabriela Sabatini, 1989 Amelia Island Open – 18 years, 11 months
One of the best players never to reach the top two of the WTA Rankings, former world No 3 Sabatini was a month shy of her 19th birthday when she triumphed at Amelia Island in April 1989.
The third seed eased past second seed and world No 2 Navratilova 6-3, 6-2 in the last four, before battling past No 1 and long-time rival Steffi Graf 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to capture the title.
Sabatini would never again beat the top two players in the world in the same tournament.
5) Serena Williams, 2000 Los Angeles Tennis Championships – 18 years, 10 months
Williams beat the world No 1 and No 2 at the same event eight times across her career, an astonishing WTA Tour record.
The American did this for the second time at the 2000 Los Angeles Tennis Championships, on her way to a second straight title at the tournament – and seventh career singles title overall.
Ranked sixth in the world, Williams rallied to down world No 1 Martina Hingis 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the semi-final, before battling past compatriot and No 2 Davenport 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1) in the final.
4) Serena Williams, 1999 US Open – 17 years, 11 months
Less than a year before her run in LA, Williams achieved the feat for the first time with a staggering run to her first major title at the 1999 US Open.
The seventh seed – ranked sixth – battled past world No 2 Davenport 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam final, where she shocked world No 1 Hingis with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory.
Williams had already beaten fourth seed Monica Seles from a set down in the quarter-finals.
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3) Mirra Andreeva, 2025 Indian Wells – 17 years, 10 months
Andreeva does not turn 18 until the end of April, and now finds herself being the second-youngest woman to beat the world No 1 and No 2 in the same tournament.
Ranked as the world No 11 heading into Indian Wells, the Russian rallied to down world No 2 Swiatek 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-3 in the last four, before defeating No 1 Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
Andreeva is the third-youngest Indian Wells champion, and third-youngest woman to win multiple WTA 1000 titles.
2) Tracy Austin, 1979 Filderstadt Open – 16 years, 10 months
This countdown is capped off by two historic runs from Austin, who was under the age of 17 the first two times she achieved this impressive feat.
Austin was just 16 years and 10 months when she claimed the Filderstadt title in November 1979, defeating world No 2 Evert and No 1 Navratilova in back-to-back matches.
She first defeated Evert 6-3, 7-5 to reach the final, where she thrashed Navratilova 6-2, 6-0.
1) Tracy Austin, 1979 US Open – 16 years, 8 months
Incredibly, Austin became the youngest player to ever beat the world’s top two players at the same event on her way to the first Grand Slam title of her career.
At the 1979 US Open, aged 16 years and eight months, Austin beat world No 2 Navratilova 7-5, 7-5 in their semi-final clash before a shock 6-4, 6-3 victory over No 1 Evert in the final.
Her victory makes her the youngest US Open champion of the Open Era, and the third-youngest woman to win any Grand Slam singles title in the professional age.
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