Mirra Andreeva into Dubai final, upsets Elena Rybakina

DUBAI—Mirra Andreeva roared into her first WTA 1000 final on Friday, shocking Elena Rybakina, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The 17-year-old No. backed up a big win over world No. 2 Iga Swiatek to repeat the feat against Rybakina defeating the former world No. 3 and No. 6 seed in two hours and 15 minutes on Center Court.

"Honestly it's crazy because at first I was not very positive before coming to Dubai," said Andreeva, who lost early last week at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha. "I was like, 'Okay, well, I'm just going to play.'

"As always, when you don't think about how you're going to play, you just play your best tennis. In the end, it's one of your best tournaments."

Andreeva had been in the midst of a milestone week coming into her first WTA 1000 semifinal, fresh off a strong win over Swiatek, the current world No. 2. The No. 12 seed has soared up the rankings since last spring, when she made her first major semifinal at Roland Garros with a win against then-No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, and won her first WTA title on clay in Romania.

A 2022 Wimbledon champion, Rybakina had played Andreeva just once before, coming back from a set down to win on hard courts at the 2023 China Open, but both have been through much in the 16 months since that Round of 16 clash.

While Andreeva has credited much of her rise to coach Conchita Martinez, Rybakina is dealing with more worrying personnel issues as ex-coach Stefano Vukov was recently suspended for breaching the WTA’s Code of Conduct. The Athletic reported Vukov will remain suspended for at least a year, leading Rybakina to incorporate Davide Sanguinetti as her official coach—though it is widely understood that Vukov still holds the proverbial reins.

Despite the off-court issues, Rybakina has put together a strong week in Dubai, saving six match points to defeat Paula Badosa and knocking out 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in back-to-back matches to book the meeting with Andreeva.

Andreeva, who opened up about her work with a sports psychologist, nonetheless got off to the stronger start as night fell on Center Court, twice breaking the Russian-born Kazakh en route to winning the first set behind 11 winners.

Though she won an impressive all-court rally to get on the board in the second, Andreeva found fewer openings on Rybakina’s serve and found herself broken in the tenth game to force a final set. Rybakina kept up her momentum with an early break in the decider but a missed overhead provided an opening for Andreeva, who took full advantage to bring the set back on serve.

The match shifted quickly from there, Andreeva reversing a 1-3 deficit much as she did against Swiatek into a break advantage of her own. A marathon eighth game ensued, with Andreeva roaring back from 0-40 down and holding her cool to save four total break points and move within a game of the final.

A deflated Rybakina netted a backhand to hand Andreeva a match point; though the teen erred wide, she earned a second off another error from Rybakina. Andreeva secured a fifth game in a row on her second match point, Rybakina missing a final backhand wide.

Standing between Andreeva and her first WTA 1000 title will be the winner of the second semifinal, between Clara Tauson and No. 14 seed Karolina Muchova.

"I think I know how to play against both of them. Well, I hope Conchita knows and she's going to tell me," said Andreeva. "We're going to prepare our best and I hope I'm going to show my best levels tomorrow."