Mirra Andreeva reveals immediate reaction to LeBron James praise following Indian Wells win

Mirra Andreeva etched her name in record books after beating Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final to win her second WTA 1000 title.

Mirra Andreeva reveals immediate reaction to LeBron James praise following Indian Wells win

LeBron James, Mirra Andreeva (IImage via X/Bron Muse, Tennis Panorama News)

Mirra Andreeva has become a cynosure of all eyes after she clinched her career’s second WTA 1000 title at the Indian Wells Open. Andreeva denied World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka her first singles title in the California desert with a three-set win in the final.

Following her win, the Russian credited basketball great LeBron James‘ champion’s mindset for her triumph. James, the leading scorer in NBA history, noticed what the 17-year-old said and took to his Instagram stories to congratulate her, wishing her all the best for the future.

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Andreeva was on cloud nine after this. Ahead of kick-starting her Miami Open campaign, the teenager revealed her immediate reaction to the four-time NBA champion’s praise.

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Yeah, of course, I saw him reposting my photo in his Instagram stories. I immediately took a screenshot and sent it to everyone. It felt amazing. It means so much to me. It just means a lot that he knows that I exist. So you know, of course, it’s amazing for me.

Mirra Andreeva told Tennis Channel

Martina Navratilova compares Mirra Andreeva to Justine Henin

Mirra Andreeva reminds tennis great Martina Navratilova of Justine Henin. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion explained why she thinks Andreeva’s game is similar to that of the Belgian former WTA ace.

Mirra Andreeva (2)
Mirra Andreeva (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

And she’s 17? I mean, the way she plays is more like Henin. She’s got the slice and is really great down the line on both sides. Henin attacked the down-the-line return. Moved well, but Mirra has a bigger serve and a bigger game. And those drop shots. The slice did some damage with Sabalenka.

Martina Navratilova told WTA

The 68-year-old has also compared the youngster’s game to that of four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz. Navratilova believes Andreeva has the ability to win three WTA 1000 events on the trot as the latter, before beating Sabalenka, defeated Clara Tauson at the Dubai Open final to win her career’s first WTA 1000 trophy.

En route to her first Indian Wells title, Andreeva also went past Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek. Her win over Swiatek and Sabalenka made her the second youngest woman to emerge victorious in a tournament after beating the top two players in the last two rounds following Tracy Austin, who achieved the feat twice by beating Navratilova and Chris Evert.

Andreeva is a winner of 19 main-draw matches this season, which is also the most ahead of five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek (18) and 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys (18). She is also the youngest to take home two WTA 1000 titles on the trot since Martina Hingis who had claimed Miami Open and Hilton Head in 1997.

Mirra Andreeva to lock horns with Veronika Kudermetova

Mirra Andreeva’s two back-to-back WTA 1000 titles helped her rankings as she’s now the newest World No.6. But the draw at the Miami Open was made as per the previous ranking she had.

Mirra Andreeva
Mirra Andreeva (Image via X, The Tennis Letter)

So she will enter the Miami Open as an 11th-seeded player. She received a bye and will kick start her campaign against Veronika Kudermetova, who beat Wang Xinyu in her first round. Andreeva has never met Kudermetova in her career.

If Andreeva clinches the Miami Open, she will become the fifth woman in the history of tennis to complete the Sunshine Double. Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, and Iga Swiatek have achieved this feat. Graf is the only woman on the list to have completed it twice.

Andreeva is also playing doubles along with countrywoman Diana Shnaider. The Russian pair will start their campaign against Robin Montgomery and McCartney Kessler.