Something had to give in the first BNP Paribas Open semifinal on Friday in Indian Wells: No. 9 seed and recent Dubai champion Mirra Andreeva came into her semifinal against No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek having won 10 consecutive matches, while Swiatek, a two-time Indian Wells champion, had won her last 10 matches at the tournament.
At the end of 2 hours and 17 minutes, it was the 17-year-old who marched on. The World No. 11 advanced to her second consecutive WTA 1000 final with a 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-3 win over Swiatek, her second win over the World No. 2 in as many tournaments.
Indian Wells: Draws | Scores | Order of play
Andreeva’s 11th victory in a row makes her the youngest player to advance to the BNP Paribas Open final since Kim Clijsters in 2001, as she aims to become first teenager to win women’s singles title at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden since Bianca Andreescu in 2019. She’ll face either World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, or Australian Open champion Madison Keys, in the final.
Andreeva’s streak puts her on top of the tour: Entering the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships just about a month ago, Andreeva had seven match wins in 2025. Now, she has 18 — and her semifinal victory ties her for the top spot in match wins this year with Keys and Swiatek.
The freedom that comes with winning, a lot of it, was on display for Andreeva particularly in a 56-minute first set, where both players hit more winners than unforced errors. Neither player lost serve in the first eight games — Andreeva didn’t even face a break point — until she broke Swiatek at 4-4 from 30-15.
Though Andreeva failed to serve out the set thereafter, and trailed 0-30 in her next service game down 5-6, she said she never felt in danger of losing the set.
“I just felt like, I don’t know why I felt so much confidence, and I felt like I’m gonna go and play the tiebreak like it’s the last tiebreak of my life,” Andreeva said afterwards. “So I just went for all my shots. My serve was great, and, you know, just felt super comfortable and super confident during the tiebreak. I kind of played on a roll.”
After a second set that Andreeva dubbed “a bit weird” and credited Swiatek for outplaying her, the teenager was quicker out of the gates to start the third set. She broke an increasingly frustrated Swiatek twice in the first five games, and held onto her nerve when the Pole found a better level to close to 4-3, 30-30.
In the end, Andreeva finished with 32 winners to 21 unforced errors, as well as five aces — all better than Swiatek.
The 17-year-old joins an illustrious list: Andreeva is the fifth player to reach the final in Indian Wells before turning 18 years old since the tournament’s inception in 1989. The others to do it? All former World No. 1s and Grand Slam champions.
In addition to Clijsters in 2001, the other three players to achieve the feat are Monica Seles (1991), Martina Hingis (1998) and Serena Williams (1999).
Swiatek still seeking a late-stage breakthrough in 2025: Swiatek has now lost five consecutive semifinals since winning Roland Garros last June.
