Mirra Andreeva has admitted she is most “curious” to play Aryna Sabalenka at this year’s WTA Finals.

The French Open champion is competing at her first WTA Finals, after being an alternate option last year, and in Group 2 she will face Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, and Karolina Muchova.

The third seed kickstarts her campaign at Indian Wells on Monday night against Svitolina, a player she has a 1-1 head-to-head record against.

Before that tough opener against the sixth seed, the 19-year-old has explained why facing world No 2 Sabalenka is the contest she is most eagerly awaiting.

The Belarusian holds a 4-2 positive record against the young Russian, with their last meeting coming back in the Indian Wells final last year.

More WTA Finals News

Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.

Andreeva won that match in three sets and now she is looking forward to locking horns with the four-time Grand Slam champion, who has struggled for wins since finishing runner-up at the US Open.

She said on The Big T Podcast, “Honestly, I didn’t actually know who I want to see in my group because I know that no matter who will be there, I’m going to really have to bring the best tennis I have and try to beat every single person that is there because I know that it’s going to be extremely hard.

“But I am very, very curious to see how I’m going to play against Aryna because obviously, we’ve played last year, the final of Indian Wells on these courts. So I’m just very curious to see how maybe we both changed and how the match is going to look like.

“But, you know, until that happens, I really want to try to focus on every single opponent that I have to play before her. But that is the match that I think that I’m looking forward to.”

Since their last meeting, Andreeva has won a Grand Slam and become a top five player. Sabalenka has also added another major to her tally but has fallen from being a comfortable No 1 to a player who seems increasingbly more vulnerable.

Indeed, Andreeva could overtake Sabalenka in the rankings during this season-ending event, with Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula also within touching distance of the former world No 1.

The 28-year-old’s last title came back in late March at the Miami Open but she did win this year’s Indian Wells earlier that month. The conditions are likely to be a bit different this time round but if Sabalenka is anywhere near her best, she could be the player to beat in California this week.