March 10, 2025
World No. 11 Mirra Andreeva advanced to the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open after defeating No. 21 Clara Tauson 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday night.
The third-round encounter was a rematch of last month’s final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which the 17-year-old won 7-6(1), 6-1 to capture her first WTA 1000 title.
With her two wins this week at Indian Wells, Andreeva extended her active win streak to eight matches. She is the youngest player to win eight consecutive WTA 1000 matches since the format was introduced in 2009. Indian Wells is Andreeva’s seventh Round of 16 showing at a WTA 1000, the most any player has made before turning 18.
“I have been playing good recently,” Andreeva said. “It just feels that I know exactly what to do on the court. For example, I would say that before on some tournaments, it depends on the match, but now I just know that I go out there, doesn’t matter who I play, the ball is coming to me and I know what to do.
“I just feel like everything is clear in my head, and I know exactly what to do with the ball. It’s kind of a good feeling, I can say. I hope that I can maintain this for as long as I can.”
Andreeva will face 2023 champion and World No. 7 Elena Rybakina in the Round of 16 on Tuesday. Andreeva defeated Rybakina last month en route to the Dubai title.
World No. 9 Zheng Qinwen closed out the night session on Day 5 with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Lulu Sun to make her first Indian Wells Round of 16. Coupled with her straight-set win in the second round over Victoria Azarenka, Indian Wells marks the first time Zheng has secured back-to-back wins this season. She will face 18th seed Marta Kostyuk next.
One of the most consistent players on the Hologic WTA Tour, Jessica Pegula won her seventh consecutive match. Wang Xinyu was her most recent victim, by a score of 6-2, 6-1 — in 62 minutes on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open.
The No. 4 player in the PIF WTA Rankings, Pegula is through to the Round of 16. Fellow Americans Coco Gauff and Madison Keys, No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, will attempt to join her on Monday. They are all hoping to become the first American woman to win at Indian Wells since Serena Williams in 2001.
On Tuesday, Pegula plays No. 23 Elina Svitolina, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over No. 14 Danielle Collins. A win there would equal her best result here, a quarterfinal berth in 2021. Pegula leads the series 5-2, including a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win last month in Doha.
After a first-round bye here, she defeated qualifier Hailey Baptiste 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. In the third month of the season, she heads to the Miami Open as the defending champion with a record of only 3-3.
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