18 years old, two WTA 1000s… and no WTA Finals: Mirra Andreeva's staggering statistic

Never before had such a young player won two WTA 1000 tournaments in the same season. Yet, the Russian prodigy will not be going to Riyadh. A very rare paradox in the history of women's tennis.

Mirra Andreeva established herself as the revelation of this 2025 season on the WTA tour. At 18, the Russian triumphed consecutively in Dubai and Indian Wells, thus becoming the youngest player in history to win a WTA 1000.

Conchita Martinez's protégé also broke into the top 5 after her quarter-final at Wimbledon. A year full of accolades and hopes for her, which unfortunately did not end on a positive note.

She indeed lost three matches in a row – including two in her opening match – between Beijing and Ningbo, thus reigniting Elena Rybakina's chances in the race for the WTA Finals. The Kazakh player perfectly capitalized on this, following up with a title in Ningbo and then a semi-final in Tokyo, which allowed her to overtake Andreeva at the last moment.

The Russian is only the second player to miss the WTA Finals despite multiple WTA 1000 titles during the season. The first to experience a similar situation was Victoria Azarenka in 2016, who was forced to withdraw after announcing her pregnancy.

There is no doubt that one of Andreeva's goals in 2026 will be to secure her ticket to Riyadh as early as possible.