INDIAN WELLS, NOV 12 (IANS): Mirra Andreeva turned a 4-1 first-set deficit into a dominant 6-4, 6-0 win over Aryna Sabalenka in 62 minutes to reach her first WTA Finals semifinal.
Andreeva won the final 11 games and 45 of the last 55 points to become the youngest player to advance to the WTA Finals semifinals since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.
She is the fifth teenager to reach the semifinals since the current round-robin format was introduced in 2003, joining Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Wozniacki and Coco Gauff.
The victory also produced another milestone. After beating Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 in her opening round-robin match, Andreeva became the first player in tournament history to win a 6-0 set in each of her first two WTA Finals matches.
After entering the WTA Finals with one Top 10 win in 2026, Andreeva has added two more this week. She will seek a third against Karolina Muchova, whom she leads 1-0 at the WTA Tour level.
Andreeva has claimed multiple Top 10 wins at a single event for the third time in her career, after Dubai and Indian Wells in 2025. She won the title at both tournaments.
Despite the defeat, Sabalenka remains alive in the semifinal race. She and Svitolina will play for the second semifinal spot on Friday after Svitolina rallied from a set down to defeat Muchova earlier Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Elina Svitolina edged Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and will have a chance to compete for a semifinal spot in Friday’s group stage finale against Sabalenka.
Svitolina has now earned her 11th win at the FAGE WTA Finals and her first since 2019. She’s also 6-1 at the WTA Finals in three-set matches.
Muchova, however, fell to 0-2 at the competition and is eliminated from advancing to the semifinals as a result of Andreeva’s win.