On 17 March 2025, 17-year-old Russian rising star Mila Andreeva defeated world No. 1 Sabalenka 2-6 6-4 6-3 in the Indian Wells Women's Singles final in an epic comeback to win 12 straight matches and claim two WTA1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells. Not only did this mark the rise of a new generation of women's tennis, but it also sparked a lot of discussion about technological innovation, career prospects and identity.

Andreeva's path to winning the championship can be called a "giant killer". In Dubai, she defeated top players such as Swiatek and Rybakina to win the championship; After moving to Indian Wells, she continued her hot form, knocking out Svitolina, Swiatek and Sabalenka in quick succession, becoming the first teenager to win two back-to-back 1000 races in the same season. Crucially, she showed great mental resilience in the final against Sabalenka, who had won just one of their previous five meetings.

In terms of technical characteristics, first of all, Andreeva's forehand shot has both power and spin, especially in the holding phase, she can suppress the opponent through the change of landing point, and when facing Swiatek, she forces the opponent to make frequent mistakes through large-angle maneuvers. Secondly, she used a number of cutting balls against Indian Wells in Dubai to disrupt the rhythm of her opponents, such as in the semi-final against Swiatek, where she equalised in the second set and used the tactic to extend the advantage in the deciding set. It's fair to say that Andreeva is far more delicate in terms of technique than her peers, and if she can strengthen her strength in the future, then her career prospects are limitless.

As a 17-year-old superstar, Andreeva's advantages are obvious: First of all, she is better than young, and youth is the biggest asset, because her physical functions are not yet fully mature, and there is still room for improvement in strength and speed in the future. Secondly, her mental qualities are much stronger than that of a typical Russian female player, and although she often experienced emotional swings in matches when she first turned professional, after two years of precipitation, her psychological resilience has become more and more mature: in two consecutive tournaments, she has repeatedly shown a calm attitude in the deciding set or key points, such as the third set of the semi-finals, Swiatek counterattacked, and sealed the victory 6-3. Finally, she is a player with a strong ability to learn tactically, from Dubai to Indian Wells, and her ability to learn quickly with her targeted tactics against different styles of players such as Rybakina and Swiatek.

Of course, despite her impressive achievements, Andreeva's future faces multiple challenges: First and foremost is nationality, as the International Tennis Federation's restrictions on Russian athletes have meant that Andreeva is required to compete as a neutral and unable to represent her country in team events, which could limit her commercial value and geopolitical tensions could affect her training resources and team support. Second, her appearance is not beautiful enough, her appearance obviously has the imprint of Mongolian ancestry, and the long face shape also determines that she will not reach the same height as beautiful players such as Sharapova in terms of commercial value. Finally, her back-to-back 1000 wins were a test of an intense schedule, which put a huge strain on her body and could expose her to injury risks if she couldn't optimize her schedule management.

Milla Andreeva's rise is not only a career milestone, but also a break in the top structure of women's tennis. With her technical versatility, mental toughness and tactical acumen, she challenged the traditional "power" dominant landscape. However, its future development still needs to find a balance between career planning, identity and public opinion. If she can continue to evolve, she may start an era of "new stars of technology". (Source: Tennis Home Author: Xiaodi)