Russian Teenager Mirra Andreeva Wins WTA Finals; Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina Snubs Handshake

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 15: Mirra Andreeva celebrates match point against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during the final day of the FAGE WTA Finals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on November 15, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images for WTA)Getty Images for WTARussian teenager Mirra Andreeva continued her run to a potential No. 1 world ranking by capturing the WTA Finals title on Sunday in Indian Wells. Andreeva, 19, defeated Elina Svitolina, 7-5, 6-3, in Sunday final. She won the match when Svitolina netted a forehand overhead on match point. It was her fifth Top 10 win of 2026.Svitolina, who is Ukrainian, does not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players due to the war, so Andreeva only shook hands with the umpire following the match during her celebration.Andreeva will take home $3,370,000 after her 5-0 performance at the event.Andreeva, the first teenager since Maria Sharapova in 2004 to win the WTA Finals, converted 78% of her firsts serves and won 62% of her first serve points. She was 6-of-16 on break points against Svitolina’s serve.Andreeva won her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros earlier this year and has reached the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, where she will face American Jessica Pegula on Saturday.Andreeva is currently 293 points behind world No. 1 and 2025 WTA Finals champion Elena Rybakina, who did not play the WTA finals as she rests and recovers from a viral illness.Andreeva is now on the brink of surpassing her early for world No. 1 in 2027.“I think it’s going to happen very soon,” tennis analyst Brad Gilbert said on Tennis Channel this week.Gilbert also pointed out that if Andreeva -- who is currently ranked No. 3 in the world just behind Aryna Sabalenka, whom Andreeva beat, 6-4, 6-0 in group play – came out of the WTA Finals ranked No. 2 it will help her at the Australian Open in January. “That puts you on line 128 [of the draw],” Gilbert said. “As the 3 seed, you could be in either one of the 1 or 2’s halves. I see it [Andreeva becoming world No. 1] happening very early in 2027.”Rybakina is the defending Australian Open champ, and must defend 2,000 points there, while Andreeva lost in the fourth round in Melbourne last year.“I think she can go way further than that,” Hall of Famer Tracy Austin said on Tennis Channel.This article was originally published on Forbes.com