And neither of Andreeva’s back-to-back Top 2 wins were easy, either.
After squeaking out a close first set in a tie-break, Andreeva had to battle back after a second-set blow-out to defeat Swiatek in the semifinals on Friday, edging the two-time Indian Wells champion, 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-3.
Then, after another blow-out in the first set of the final on Sunday, she clawed her way back to defeat Sabalenka for the title, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
And if her start to the year is anything to go by, watch out—Andreeva’s victory over Sabalenka was her 19th win of the season, breaking a tie with Swiatek and Madison Keys for the most on the women’s tour this year.
She’ll now head to Miami, where—should she win the title there, too—she would become the youngest player ever, male or female, to complete the Sunshine Double of winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.
No teenager has ever achieved the feat, and she’s still only 17.