Mirra Andreeva Wins Dubai Tennis Championships Final, Becomes Youngest Ever WTA 1000 Champion at 17

Add as a preferred source on Google

Mirra Andreeva scripted history on Saturday (February 22) night after the 17-year-old became the youngest-ever WTA 1000 champion following her straight sets win over Clara Tauson in the Dubai Tennis Championships final at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai.

Andreeva, who had earlier become the youngest WTA 1000 finalist, continued her dream run, beating Denmark's Tauson 7-6(1), 6-1 to win the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

In a showdown between two players contesting their first WTA 1000 final, it was No. 12 seed Andreeva who got the better of 38th-ranked Tauson in the title clash that lasted an hour and 46 minutes.

Andreeva, at 17 years and 299 days old, is now the youngest WTA 1000 champion since the WTA 1000 format began in 2009. Andreeva had set a goal to enter WTA top 10 rankings by the end of the year, but the Russian's wish arrived early following her dream run in tournament.

"I'd set a goal for myself to be in top 10 by the end of the year. Now it's the end of February, and I've already made it, so this is something incredible for me. I'm just super happy with the way I was playing today. I was hella (very) nervous. I think you could see it during the match with all those double faults, some mistakes," Andreeva said.

"I've been dreaming of having a press conference with a [WTA 1000] trophy by my side, so finally it happened," Andreeva smiled in her victory press conference. "But I saw winners drinking a glass of champagne. It's a pity that I'm still 17."

The 17-year-old defeated three Grand Slam champions; Iga Swiatek, Marketa Vondrousova and Elena Rybakina on-route to her title triumph in Dubai, which is her first WTA title.

The young Russian also joins Venus Williams (2009), Elina Svitolina (2017), Barbora Krejcikova (2023) and Jasmine Paolini (2024) as the five players to win their maiden WTA 1000 title in Dubai.