Image caption, Mirra Andreeva is the third teenager to win the WTA Finals singles trophy on debut at the tournament ByAmy LofthouseBBC Sport Senior Journalist Published 11 minutes ago For Mirra Andreeva, the thought of her first WTA Finals singles campaign was so stressful that it gave her "a little breakdown" in a practice session before the tournament.

The 19-year-old may have been nervous on arrival at Indian Wells, but she leaves California as the champion, having been the standout player of the week.

The French Open winner produced a hard-fought 7-5 6-3 victory over Elina Svitolina in Sunday's final to become the youngest champion of the event in 22 years.

The Russian has now risen to second in the world rankings - and she will start the 2027 season just 293 points behind top-ranked Elena Rybakina.

Andreeva did not drop a set on her way to the title and lost only 26 games across her five matches.

She raised her arms in celebration after beating Svitolina before racing to celebrate with her team, which includes 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez.

"I am super thankful to my team for pushing me to my limits, for forcing me to do stuff when I don't want to do anything," Andreeva said.

"Thanks for fighting with me, thanks for forcing me to do everything that I have to do and not asking any questions!" As well as £2.55m in prize money, Andreeva also won a custom purple Mercedes - and joked she was happy to remain a "passenger princess" until she passed her test.

Andreeva thanks herself again after stellar season Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Mirra Andreeva is the youngest WTA Finals champion since a 17-year-old Maria Sharapova in 2004 One of the most notable parts of Andreeva's performance has been her increased maturity.

In March, she swore at the Indian Wells crowd after suffering an early defeat in the venue's WTA Tour tournament, and she has struggled to control her emotions, external on court.

However, she showed little sign of that during this tournament.

Against Svitolina, one of the grittiest players on the women's tour, she lost a break lead three times across the two sets.

Each time, she reset admirably, upping her aggression on her backhand in particular to put pressure back on her opponent.

After losing serve in a mammoth nine-minute game in the second set, Andreeva marched back to her chair and then broke Svitolina from 40-0 down in the next game to stay in front.

While her serve was not at its best, Andreeva still saved nine of the 12 break points she faced and hit 19 winners to Svitolina's 10.

"This fighting mindset helped me to get more brave and aggressive in the important moments," Andreeva told Sky Sports.

"This is just a dream.

I had a little breakdown in my practice just before Indian Wells because I was so stressed.

"I didn't want to lose a match in the group.

It's amazing." Andreeva had only won one of her six matches against top-10 players in 2026 coming into the tournament.

She has beaten three top-10 players en route to the title, including a demolition of four-time major champion Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday.

She also laughed off an incident before the tournament where private comments Jessica Pegula made to her coach about Andreeva - including calling her a "diva" - were live-streamed.

Just as she did when she won the French Open, Andreeva ended her speech by thanking herself - a twist on a quote she "stole" from rapper Snoop Dogg.

"I want to thank myself for always doing the hard work and for never quitting," she said.

"For not taking the days off, for working every day and committing to what I have to do - just thanks to myself." 'I want to thank myself' - Andreeva's journey to Grand Slam glory Published 6 June Ukraine's Svitolina was tearful after the defeat, but reaching this stage capped a fine turnaround after she lost 6-4 6-0 to Andreeva on the first day of the tournament.

She pushed Andreeva throughout, drawing her into lengthy baseline rallies before fatigue set in.

She will finish the year at six in the world rankings, having made it back into the top 10 for the first time since 2021.

Svitolina returned from maternity leave in 2022, and joked that daughter Skai would have some questions for her after the match.

"She's probably still awake and is going to ask me why I didn't win today," the 32-year-old said.

"I'm really happy to be in great form and coming back after pregnancy.

Hopefully it inspires some ladies and athletes around the world to believe that it's possible.