Mirra Andreeva, 17, left, poses for a photograph with her mom after winning the women's championship match of the 2025 BNP Paribas Open against Aryna Sabalenka at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., on Sunday, March 16, 2025.

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Mirra Andreeva Took Inspiration From This NBA Legend Before the Indian Wells Final

17-year-old Mirra Andreeva made history on Sunday by winning the 2025 Indian Wells crown, managing to capture consecutive WTA-1000 titles in the process. What started off with annoyed outbursts which prove that Andreeva is merely a teenager and nothing but human, turned into a night to remember.

By doing so, the Russian prodigy became the second youngest woman (after Tracy Austin) in history to defeat the World No. 1 and No. 2 in the same tournament. In the aftermath of her glorious victory, Andreeva credited a part of her success to an NBA icon; it was none other than Lakers veteran LeBron James.

the moment Mirra Andreeva became Indian Wells CHAMPION at 17-years-old! 💚#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/E9SlUVmpgA
— wta (@WTA) March 16, 2025

Mirra Andreeva has risen to a career-high ranking of No. 6 in the world, following her win at Tennis Paradise. She is now on a 12 match winning streak heading into Miami, where home favorite Danielle Collins is the defending champion. Andreeva’s path to the trophy at the Californian desert was no cakewalk by any means.

Also Read: Former US Open Champion is all praise for 17-year Indian Wells Champion Mirra Andreeva!

In the semifinal, the Russian had to overcome a landslide second set in order to beat Iga Swiatek 7-6(1) 1-6 6-3. Coming to the summit clash against Aryna Sabalenka, she turned the match on its head after a first set drubbing, thus completing a 2-6 6-4 6-3 upset.

Mirra Andreeva Believes LeBron James Gave Her the Extra Push Towards Indian Wells 2025 Win

Speaking after her sparsely fathomable victory, Mirra Andreeva divulged having listened to an interview of four-time NBA champion LeBron James before the much awaited final. James, currently playing his 22nd NBA season, is a 21-time NBA All-Star and an inspiration to millions. “I was listening to the interview of LeBron James,” Andreeva revealed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DHRrcfnOmNG/?igsh=Y2FlMHJvMTh5OWZ3

Having set herself a goal to reach Top-10 in 2025, it is safe to say that Mirra Andreeva is taking the world by storm. Offering an apology to her legendary coach Conchita Martinez for being a ‘little brat’ whilst holding the Indian Wells trophy shows the magnitude of growth that the pair has achieved. And it is showing no signs of stopping.

What does the rest of 2025 have in store for the Russian? Only time will tell.

LeBron James

Mirra Andreeva

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.