The 5 youngest women to reach the Indian Wells final: Mirra Andreeva joins all-time greats

Oli Dickson Jefford 15 Mar 2025 9:34 AM

Mirra Andreeva celebrates after a match win.

Mirra Andreeva celebrates after a win.

Mirra Andreeva’s rise to the top of tennis continued in epic fashion on Friday night with a thrilling Indian Wells semi-final victory over reigning champion Iga Swiatek.

The Russian battled back from a difficult second set to seal a 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-3 victory over the reigning tournament champion, reaching her second straight WTA 1000 final.

Fresh off her run to the title at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Andreeva is on an 11-match win streak and is one of just three women this century – alongside Maria Sharapova and Nicole Vaidisova – to win 10+ straight matches before turning 21.

And, the 17-year-old is also just the fifth woman in Indian Wells history to reach the final before celebrating her 18th birthday.

Andreeva finds herself in truly impressive company, with all the women to previously achieve that feat Grand Slam champions and former world No 1’s.

Monica Seles – 1991

Aged 17 years and three months, Seles remains the youngest Indian Wells finalist after reaching the final in the third year of the WTA event taking place.

Already a French and Australian Open champion, she was the top seed at the tournament and would not lose a set on her way to the final, though would lose 6-2, 7-6(6) in the final to Martina Navratilova.

However, an 18-year-old Seles returned in 1992 and beat Conchita Martinez to lift the title.

Martina Hingis – 1998

The world No 1 and already a four-time major champion, 17-year-old Hingis won her sole Indian Wells title in 1998.

Hingis beat long-time rival and eighth seed Venus Williams to reach the final, where she downed another key rival – second seed Lindsay Davenport – 6-3, 6-4 to triumph.

The Swiss would lose further finals in 2000 and 2002, though, aged 17 years and five months, remains the youngest women’s singles champion in tournament history.

Serena Williams – 1999

Just a matter of days older than Hingis had been the previous year, Williams lifted the first of her two Indian Wells titles also aged 17 years and five months in 1999.

Unseeded in the draw, the American defeated 12th seed Sandrine Testud in the last four before an epic 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory over fellow icon Steffi Graf in the final.

Williams would again lift the title at age 19 in 2001, though she would then boycott the tournament for 14 years after suffering racist abuse throughout the final.

Kim Clijsters – 2001

The woman that Williams beat in the 2001 final was Clijsters, with the Belgian embarking on her breakthrough season on the WTA Tour.

Aged 17 years and nine months, the Belgian downed top seed Hingis in a three-set semi-final victory before a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 loss to the American.

Clijsters would go on to win the title in 2003 and 2005, beating Davenport in both finals.

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Mirra Andreeva – 2025

Andreeva now finds herself in extraordinary company, thanks to her run in Tennis Paradise over the past fortnight.

Aged 17 years and 10 months, the Russian has beaten the likes of 2023 champion Elena Rybakina and two-time winner Swiatek to reach the final.

Should she beat Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday’s final, she would become the third-youngest champion in tournament history.

Andreeva is aware of the company she is beginning to keep amid her age-defying exploits, though is not putting pressure on herself to emulate those achievements.

“Of course I know that Monica Seles and Martina Hingis, they won a lot of tournaments and a lot of titles while they were still teenagers,” said Andreeva.

“I know that they [were] playing great, and I try to kind of be at the same level, but tennis has changed a lot, and now I cannot imagine me winning eight slams at 17 years old. It’s impossible.

“I know what’s been going on, and about Maria and Serena. I have watched them play a lot, so I also know that they won a lot of titles and a lot of tournaments while being very young.

“I try to not really think about it, because after, I can start to overthink, I can start to compare myself, and then I don’t think that it’s going to lead me to any good.

“I know what they have done. Okay, good for them. But I try not to think about them and try to focus on what to do with my career.”