‘I’m gonna try to take a revenge’ – Mirra Andreeva looks to overcome Aryna Sabalenka after Swiatek victory
Mirra Andreeva beat Iga Swiatek 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-3 in the semi-finals of Indian Wells, and says she is looking for ‘revenge’ against Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
The young Russian continued her winning streak, now capturing 11 consecutive match victories after her Dubai title in February.
Andreeva is also confirmed to reach a new career high of world No 8, with the sixth spot another option – if she wins the final.
However, the world No 6 spot will undoubtedly be hard-fought with fellow finalist Sabalenka having dominated the 17-year-old in the fourth-round of the 2025 Australian Open less than two months ago.
“Yeah, the matches that we played this year didn’t really go my way,” stated Andreeva, in her post-match press conference.
“Yeah, I can say she almost killed me, especially in Melbourne. Yeah, I’m gonna try to take a revenge, because I still have nothing to lose, and I feel like the match is going to be probably entertaining.
“There is going to be a lot of, I think, a lot of winners, a lot of great points. Now it’s going to be Conchita’s job to prepare me well for this match, so I hope she is gonna do it.
“But, yeah, I will just go out there as for every other match and try to play my best and to fight for every point, and then we’re gonna see who’s gonna win.”
The world No 1 has beaten Andreeva on four occasions, with the latter’s sole win coming at Roland Garros in 2024.
To make matters worse, Sabalenka looks to be in superb form having beaten down 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-0, 6-1 in her respective semi-final match at Indian Wells.
The two seemed to get along well at the World Tennis League exhibition event in 2024, something which the 17-year-old remarked upon: “Yeah, I got to know her a little bit better when we played the exhibition and we were in one team.
“I cannot say that, you know, we’re great friends, but if I see her, of course we can talk about something, but not like her and Paula, for example.
“Yeah, I got to know her a little better as a person, because before, I had no idea what kind of person she is. Now I know her a little bit better, and yeah, we don’t spend a lot of time together, but I just know her for a little bit now.”
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Andreeva also made sure to remain candid about the future of her career, despite her incredible success as of late: “I know that they [previous WTA teenagers] have been playing great, and, you know, I try to kind of, I don’t know, 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.
“Yeah, of course 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. So I don’t know.
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.”
