Mirra Andreeva hadn’t played since she lost the Beijing final to Zheng Qinwen.
She didn’t skip a beat in her return to action on Monday at the WTA Finals.
This year’s Roland Garros champion powered past Elina Svitolina to join Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the Group 2 standings, winning 6-4, 6-0 in 71 minutes to kick off her WTA Finals campaign with an emphatic performance.
Andreeva improved to 1-1 against Svitolina in 2026, and 2-1 overall. She also defeated Svitolina at Indian Wells last year, 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
The first teen to play the WTA Finals since Coco Gauff in 2023, and the youngest player in the field, Andreeva battled through a tight opening set, making a break in the fifth game stand up as she saved a break point while serving out the set.
With wind in her sails and early nerves behind her, Andreeva cruised to the finish line.
She later admitted just how nervous she was at the start of the match.
“Honestly, I am beyond happy today. I’m very happy to get my first-ever WTA Finals win,” Andreeva said, adding: “Guys… I was so tight, like, crazy. I felt like I was moving like a turtle. I felt like I couldn’t really hit the ball.
“So I’m just very happy to get through the match. I’m very happy that I was able to control my emotions, and very, very happy to win.”
Andreeva clocked 15 winners – six more than Svitolina – and won 88 percent of first-serve points (to 54 percent for Svitolina). The No. 3 seed also won all six points she played at the net.
Andreeva, the youngest player to earn 50 or more wins in a single WTA season since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009, and the youngest player to hold a Top 4 ranking since Maria Sharapova in 2005, earns her second Top 10 win of the season.
She has a history of winning in the California desert, having won the title in 2025 at Indian Wells.
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