Mira Andreeva has secured second place in the WTA world rankings at the end of the season. The Russian tennis player, who competes under a neutral status, defeated American Jessica Pegula 6:3, 6:4 in the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Indian Wells.
The match lasted one hour and 25 minutes. With the victory, 19-year-old Andreeva reached her first final at the season-ending tournament and will record the highest ranking of her career.
Andreeva Overtakes Sabalenka
Andreeva will finish with at least 7306 points, regardless of the outcome of the final. Before the tournament, she was third in the rankings, but she will overtake Aryna Sabalenka, who remains on 6685 points after being eliminated in the group stage.
Pegula had a chance to displace Andreeva from second place, but only if she won the title. Following her defeat, the American will remain on 6160 points.
„It was very interesting to see how the match would develop because I didn’t know her game well. I tried to react in the moment, and as the match progressed, I started to understand better what she was doing,“ Andreeva said.The victory was particularly significant because the two tennis players had not met previously. Andreeva won all four of her matches in Indian Wells without dropping a set.
Rybakina Remains Number 1
Elena Rybakina will finish the season at the top with 8099 points. The representative of Kazakhstan climbed to the top spot after her triumph at the US Open in September, where she defeated Sabalenka in the final.
Rybakina, who won the WTA Finals last year, did not participate in this year’s edition due to a viral illness. She announced that she would withdraw from the tournament in order to recover and prepare for the 2027 season.
In the final in Indian Wells, Andreeva will face Elina Svitolina. The Ukrainian defeated Linda Noskova 6:2, 6:1 and reached the third final of her career in the history of the WTA Finals.
Sources: tass.com, apnews.com