With spectators basking in the glow of a warm Southern California afternoon, 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva was the epitome of California cool in Sunday’s women’s singles final inside Stadium 1. 

Pegged back and frustrated in the early going, Andreeva rallied past World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to become the youngest BNP Paribas Open champion since Serena Williams in 1999, and the third youngest in tournament history. 

“I tried to run like a rabbit today,” giddy Andreeva said at the podium after receiving her trophy. “Because Aryna was sending bullets. It was hard just to keep up.” 

In an entertaining speech Andreeva comically thanked herself. She also thanked her team, and apologized to her coach Conchita Martinez for misbehaving in the hours leading up to Sunday’s final. 

“I know I was, as you like to say, ‘A little brat’ in the morning, that’s because I was super nervous – I’m sorry for that,” she said. 

If she was a brat, then call her the superbrat. 

Andreeva is the youngest player to defeat the World No. 1 in a WTA final since Maria Sharapova defeated Lindsay Davenport in Tokyo 2005, and the third player aged 17 or younger in the last 40 years to defeat the World No. 1 and World No. 2 in a single WTA event. 

Andreeva, who also won a WTA 1000 title last month in Dubai, stretched her current winning streak to 12 with the victory. 

“I have a love-hate relationship with this place,” joked two-time runner-up Sabalenka, who also lost in the final here in 2023. “Mirra, congrats on an incredible run – great tournament, and great tennis.” 

Initially pushed back by Sabalenka’s penetrating depth, the speedy, intuitive Andreeva put her caginess on full display as she problem-solved her way into the match and came out on top of a final for the ages. 

It was Sabalenka who started on the front foot, dipping into her toolbox to befuddle Andreeva. After the 26-year-old saved four break points in the third game, she was off to the races, leaving the teenager frustrated and wearing her angst at the conclusion of the 34-minute set. 

Andreeva may have been frustrated but she wasn’t done fighting. 

After missing out on three break points in her first return game of set two, the breakthrough came in the second. 

Andreeva lasered a forehand return winner down the line for her first break and a 2-1 lead, bringing the crowd to full throat at the 51-minute mark. 

From there the teenager turned up the volume on her creativity, court sense and intuition. She mixed delicate touch with devastating pace, moving the chess pieces around the board with a tactical and technical dexterity that took all the wind from Sabalenka’s sails. 

She played with an ease of movement, a lightness of touch and a clarity of mind that belies her 17 years. She served magnificently. And she didn’t blink. 

Is there anything that this kid can’t do? 

It was this combination of purity of shot and cleverness that enabled Andreeva to turn the tides. 

Now in a zone of unflappability, Andreeva calmly saved two break points, the second with a miraculous sliding slice winner – an instant shot of the match candidate that got the crowd on its feet –  to hold for 4-2.

Soon, she served out the set with authority to force a decider. 

Momentum firmly in pocket, Andreeva weathered a sticky patch of three consecutive breaks of serve to lead 2-1. But the work was far from done. Managing a slim lead in the deciding set of a high-stakes final against a three-time major like Sabalenka is no small task.

Impervious Andreeva made it look easy. 

An ace out wide gave her a 4-2 lead.

A booming body serve brought a Sabalenka backhand error for a 5-3 lead. 

Moments later, another of her myriad impeccable defensive lobs forced Sabalenka error, taking the teen to championship point. 

Money in the bank: she ripped a forehand winner, closing the contest in two hours and four minutes.

Asked if she felt more relaxed in the second and third sets, Andreeva admitted that her turnaround was not as easy as it looked. 

“I didn't feel relaxed,” she told reporters in her champion’s press conference. “The whole match I felt super nervous. After the first set, I just realized ‘Oh, well, what [I am doing now], it isn’t working, so I have to change something.’ I tried to really create something to make her uncomfortable, and point by point, game by game, I managed to do that.”