WTA1000 Dubai: Clara Tauson vs Mirra Andreeva final analysis
Mirra Andreeva became the youngest WTA 1000 winner by riding a strategy tailor-made for Tauson during all of the first set
Teen phenom Mirra Andreeva (WTA #15, seed 12) defeated Clara Tauson (WTA #39) 7-6 [7:1], 6-1 in the final of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to secure her highest-level title and establish a couple of impressive precocity records.
At 17 years and 299 days, Andreeva became the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 event since the format’s introduction in 2009. She also became the youngest player to be part of the Top-10 since Nicole Vaidisova in August 2006, following a rise to a career-high #9 in yesterday’s rankings update.
** A reminder that those all-time WTA Tour records belong to Jennifer Capriati and are unlikely to be broken.
After making her professional debut in 1990 as a 13-year-old, Capriati set multiple "youngest ever" marks during her first 2 pro seasons. She cracked the Top-10 at 14 years and 235 days, following her first career title at the 1990 Puerto Rico Open. She became the youngest Tier I champion (equivalent to the current WTA 1000 level) by winning the 1991 Canadian Open at 15 years and 135 days.
But Capriati’s prodigious career turned into burn-out and led to the introduction of age eligibility rules that now prevent young players below 17 from playing full-time.
Back to the present, this week in Dubai, Tauson (aged 22) and Andreeva showed great development and maturity when they scored the biggest victories of their lives by ranking — Tauson upset #1 Aryna Sabalenka while Andreeva defeated #2 Iga Swiatek — and didn’t let up afterwards. Ultimately, both youngsters put together the best week of their careers to date.
Tauson reached the title decider after knocking out Rebecca Sramkova, Elina Svitolina (in a final set tie-break), Sabalenka, Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova.
Andreeva got there by eliminating Elina Avanesyan, Marketa Vondrousova, Peyton Stearns, Swiatek and Elena Rybakina in succession, recovering from 1-3 down in the final set against Rybakina.
With both players contesting a first WTA 1000 final in Dubai, the match was a formidable showcase of Andreeva’s:
Mental strength
Serve improvements
Savvy tactics
Physicality
1 - Mental strength
Andreeva came up with the perfect response to what happened in her last title decider, just 4 months ago. You may remember she lost a edgy and not well-played WTA 500 Ningbo final to Daria Kasatkina and burst into tears during the trophy presentation. In one of the on-court/off-play moments of the season, Kasatkina stormed the podium to console her friend.
Instead of allowing that experience to grow into something negative and traumatic, Andreeva accepted it as part of her normal development, as she so openly shared in Brisbane at the start of the 2025 season.
"Well, that final was something special. But honestly I got emotional because, well, I led 3-0 in the third set, and I lost 6-4. It's never easy to lose the match when you're almost always the one who is up in the score. Of course, I got emotional as well, because for me it was the chance to win my second title. Of course, it's not really nice when you lose in the final. Yes, this was a bit heavy. Well, not a nice moment.
After with Dasha, we shared nice moments together. She tried to calm me down. I don't think she succeeded because after that I started crying even more.
It's a learning experience, as well. I just have to accept it. Now when I look at those videos when I'm crying, I just laugh at myself because I couldn't hold it inside. It’s again an experience that had to be there in my career.”
— Mirra Andreeva, press conference in Brisbane
Back then, Andreeva talked the talk; on Saturday she walked the walk, never losing composure in the biggest match of her life and with so many milestones on the line.
Andreeva’s start wasn't the best as early nerves led to consecutive double faults and a break in her first serve game of the match. But the teenager shook that tension off with 3 winners from her well-trusted backhand (shown below) for an immediate break back. That was the moment Andreeva settled into the Dubai final for good.
📺 source: WTA Tv
From there, the young Russian was focused, determined and level-headed.
She didn't allow frustration to set in after failing to serve out the opening set at 5-4.
She was immune to pressure when 5-6 down or during the tie-break. Never behind on the score during those key moments, she secured the opening set by cutting down on errors while winning 11 of the last 13 points.
With Tauson’s physical condition deteriorating as the match progressed, the second set wasn’t as challenging for Andreeva. Still, she can be praised for not blinking when triumph got closer and closer in such high-stakes match.
2 - Serve improvements
This is what Tennis Abstract’s Jeff Sackmann wrote on Andreeva during the off-season:
“We don’t need to wishcast an improvement in her return game: She’s already one of the best returners in the game. Instead, the road to the top ten and beyond goes through her serve.”
— Jeff Sackmann in Mirra Andreeva’s Many Happy Returns
The scary thing is that just two months later, Andreeva is dropping serve bombs north of 180 Km/H on a consistent basis. And true to Sackmann’s prediction, her quick and decisive serve progress has led to Top-10 status.
Against Swiatek in the Dubai quarters, Andreeva finished with some impressive serving stats: 10 aces, 73% (24/33) 1st serves won and 7 of 8 break points saved (88%).
While her serve was more erratic against Rybakina in the semis (3 aces with 8 double faults), it was instrumental to turn around a 0/40 deficit at a pivotal moment in the third set.
→ Leading 4-3 in the final set, Andreeva won 3 straight points from 15/40 down with 3 unreturned serves. A few points later, she sealed the game with another winning serve.
Andreeva secured the win over Rybakina with a break in the following game, ending the contest with 69% (37/54) 1st serves won and 10 of 13 break points saved (77%).
The 17-year old closed a memorable week by outserving the current aces’ Tour leader in the championship match, as the following serve metrics show:
Aces & Double Faults
Tauson: 1 ace / 4 double faults
Andreeva: 6 aces / 5 double faults
1st serve performances
1st serves made: Tauson 56% / Andreeva 63%
1st serves won: Tauson 62% / Andreeva 73%
unreturned 1st serves: Tauson 8-of-37, 22% / Andreeva 16-of-45, 36%
Break points saved
Tauson: 3-of-7 (43%)
Andreeva: 6-of-8 (75%)
Not only was Andreeva’s overall serving performance superior, it was evenly spread throughout the match —at least one unreturned serve in each serve game — and featured some booming deliveries in the most opportune moments.
At 5-6 30/15, Andreeva hit a very deep 2nd serve that jammed Tauson and extracted an error. Tauson missed another 2nd serve return in the next point, so the set was decided in a tie-break. It started with a Tauson “+1” unforced error and Andreeva pounced on that gift by building a decisive 3:0 lead with 2 more winning serves (shown below). A pair of Tauson unforced errors followed so the fate of opener was sealed.
The ailing Danish was the first to lose serve in the second set. Trailing 1-3, her dwindling hopes rested on her ability to break back right away. She accrued 3 break points during the 5th game but Andreeva shut that door with 2 unreturned serves and a quality delivery that set up a “+1” winner.
Instead of allowing Tauson to get back on serve, Andreeva confirmed the break and crushed her opponent’s spirit. Tauson wouldn’t create another game point for the (short) rest of the match as Andreeva finished on a 5-game run.
3 - Savvy tactics
Andreeva is already one of the most thoughtful players on Tour. In the Dubai final, she combined her usual terrific tactical tennis (of which we will highlight her defensive and disruptive use of slice forehands) with a strategical option tailor-made for Tauson.
[Below the paywall you will discover Andreeva’s go-to strategy in the first set, read the discussion on topics 3. and 4. and explore extensive match data that, as usual, is shared in the last section. Unlock all by becoming a paid subscriber. Thank you for your support! TIN]