Nine service breaks
The final was a battle of comebacks with nine breaks served in 21 games. Andreeva broke in the opening game on her fourth break point and Svitolina broke back at 2-2. The Russian took a 3-3 lead again, saved three break points to hold for 5-3, but was broken while serving for the set at 5-4. She immediately hit back to break Svitolina at 5-5 on her second break point before serving out on her second set point.
The second set started the same way. Andreeva broke straight away before Svitolina responded in a marathon match where she needed seven break points to get back to 1-1. But the Russian broke again for 3-2, survived another long game in which Svitolina saved four break points to hold for 3-4, then broke the Ukrainian for the final time to seal the title. Svitolina saved the first game point at 0-40 before conceding a break in the second.
Andreeva converted six of her 16 break points, Svitolina – three of 12.
A perfect week
Andreeva defeated Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0, then She brushed aside Diana Schneider 6-2, 6-1before coming from a break down in two sets to beat Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals. He reached the final conceding just 18 games, the fewest by a finalist since returning to the 2003 district circuit, and finished the week with 26 losses in five games.
Only Serena Williams in 2012 and Iga Sviatek in 2023 have won the tournament without dropping a set since 2003.
Evert, Sharapova, Andreeva
Andreeva becomes only the third teenager to win a WTA finals on her debut, after Chris Evert in 1972 and Maria Sharapova in 2004, and the first teenage champion since Sharapova. The Roland Garros champion also joins Ashley Barty, Petra Kvitova, Sharapova, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova on the list of players who have won their first major and first WTA finals in the same year.
How will he finish the year? world number 2the youngest No. 2 since Sharapov in 2006. The undefeated title earns her 1,500 rating points and $3,370,000, well short of Elena Rybakina’s record $5,235,000 earned in Riyadh last year after the tournament’s move to California reduced the prize money.
No second title for Svitolina
For the first time since 2019, Svitolina was playing in her third WTA final, after defeating Sloane Stephens for the title in 2018 and Barty in 2019. After her first loss to Andreeva, the 32-year-old turned her week around with a win over Karolina Muchova. fragile Sabalenka and Linda Noskova to reach the finals.
The Ukrainian leaves Indian Wells with $1,270,000 and will finish the season ranked 6th in the world.