Mirra Andreeva reveals secret about how toilet break helped her overcome 'negative' mindset & beat Aryna Sabalenka for Indian Wells crown

Mirra Andreeva revealed how a toilet break and a moment of self-assurance made the difference as she came back from a set down to stun Aryna Sablenka and win the 2025 BNP Paribas Open title at Indian Wells. This marks the 17-year-old’s second successive WTA 1000 title after her triumph at the Dubai Tennis Championships last month.

Andreeva has been in excellent form recently and is currently on a 12-match winning streak. Her historic victory makes her the youngest champion in the BNP Paribas Open’s history since the iconic Serena Williams. Andreeva, at 17 years and 322 days, also became only the third teenager ever to beat the World No. 1 and World No. 2 en route to the title at Indian Wells.

The most remarkable milestone Mirra Andreeva achieved was that she became the third youngest player in the last 40 years to beat a World No. 1 in a WTA final after being one set down. Andreeva got off on the back foot as Sabalenka snapped up the opening set 6-2 but then made a remarkable comeback to win the contest 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Andreeva later revealed how a toilet break after the first set helped her overcome her “negative” mindset and beat Sabalenka for the title.

“Honestly, after the first set, she killed me once again and I didn't really know what to do. I felt like I was a bit negative with myself because I had a lot of opportunities and I didn't convert them. So, after I went on a toilet break, I just tried to think and tried to calm myself down. I looked at myself in the mirror and tried to really say a lot of positive things, even though it was not easy. And just like that, I kind of tried to bring myself back and in the end it worked,” she said.

Incidentally, this is the first time the Russian teenager has beaten Sabalenka in their three contests this year. Sabalenka took top honors when they met in the semifinals of the Brisbane International and the fourth round of the Australian Open, but Mirra Andreeva produced a stunning performance to clinch victory in the final at Indian Wells.

Mirra Andreeva receives high praise from Aryna Sabalenka

Mirra Andreeva speaks after beating Aryna Sabalenka for the BNP Paribas Open title. Source: Getty

Mirra Andreeva received plenty of praise from World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka after their gruelling three-set encounter at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Sabalenka, on a funny note, said she would have been a better player if she had the 17-year-old's coaching team when she was her age.

"Congrats on having a great team," Aryna Sabalenka said. "If I had the same team you have at your age, I’d probably be a better player by now. Don’t look at my team. I have the best team right now. I mean before!" said Sabalenka.

The Belarusian continued that it was very important that Mirra Andreeva had surrounded herself with the right team, which helped her realize her full potential.

"That's impressive to see what she's doing, and she's so young. And as I said, she's surrounded herself with the right team. It's nice to see a good environment around her and it's impressive to see her success," she added.

Following her impressive campaign, Mirra Andreeva has achieved a new career-high ranking as she climbed to the World No.6 spot on the latest WTA rankings. Sabalenka continues to top the ranking charts.