Mirra Andreeva gets honest about catching LeBron James' attention after NBA legend's unexpected response to Indian Wells win

Mirra Andreeva opened up about receiving a shoutout from basketball legend LeBron James following her Indian Wells triumph. The Russian extended her winning streak to 12 matches by winning the BNP Paribas Open after beating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Andreeva thus clinched her second successive WTA 1000 title, having previously won the Dubai Tennis Championships. Following her triumph, LeBron James congratulated the teenager on Instagram by writing:

"Mirra Congratulations !!! Happy to have helped but honestly YOU did that !! All your hard work, drive and dedication towards your craft ! KEEP GOING ! #striveforgreatness."

Andreeva reacted to this by stating that she took a screenshot of the basketball great's story and shared it with others, adding that it meant a lot to her.

"Yeah of course I saw him reposting my photo in his Instagram stories and, you know, I immediately took a screenshot and I sent it to everyone. So, you know, if felt amazing and it means so much to me, so, you know, it just means a lot that he knows that I exist. So, you know, of course, it's amazing for me," Andreeva said on a video shared on Tennis Channel's X account.

Mirra Andreeva has enjoyed an impressive 2025 season so far, with 19 wins out of 22 matches, and has already clinched two titles.

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Mirra Andreeva will start her Miami Open campaign against Veronika Kudermetova

Mirra Andreeva and her coach Conchita Martinez during a practice session at the Miami Open (Image Source: Getty)

Mirra Andreeva is seeded 11th at the Miami Open and received a bye to the second round. Here, the teenager will lock horns with compatriot Veronika Kudermetova, who booked her place in the second round after beating Wang Xinyu 6-2, 7-6(5). The 27-year-old has won eight out of 15 matches so far this season.

The two Russians will square off for the very first time and whoever out of the two wins, will face either 17th seed Amanda Anisimova or Mayar Sherif in the third round of the Miami Open.

Andreeva's match against Kudermetova will be her very first fixture of the competition. So far, the best the Russian has fared on her debut at a WTA 1000 event is reaching the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open last season. Here, she beat the likes of Emma Navarro, Karolina Pliskova, and Jasmine Paolini before losing to Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.