After a surprise and intrigue-filled tournament in the California desert, there are two players competing for this year’s elusive “Sunshine Double”: Mira Andreva and Jack Draper.
That’s the way everyone predicted, right?
Despite a star-studded field full of experienced veterans at the Indian Wells’ BNP Paribas Open, two young rising players who stole the show and a $1.2 million prize money were praised on the way to win the groundbreaking title on Sunday.
oh! Mirra Andreeva and Jack Draper …Their future is now, tennis looks better than ever! congratulations @bnpparibasopen
– Chris Evert (@chrissievers) March 17, 2025
The 17-year-old Andreeva has been considered one of the brightest emerging stars on the WTA Tour since his auspicious debut in 2023, but this season he found another gear and solidified himself as one of the best players he has now. After her fourth run at the Australian Open, Andreva won the biggest title of her career at the 1000 level Dubai Open last month, surgening into the top 10. Elena Ribakina, Wimbledon Victor in 2022, won just three games against her in the 16th round.
But it proved that Andreva’s reign was officially on top of us – what she did in the semi-finals – against five-time slam champion Iga Swiatek – and in the finals against world No. 1 and three-time leading Titleist Aryna Sabalenka – and in the finals, Andreva’s reign was officially on top of us. In both matches, the Russian teenagers needed three sets, but dig deep and dominated the decider in both.
Already the youngest to win a 1000-level trophy, Andreva won the youngest title (formerly known as Tier 1) at that level since Martina Hingis in 1997. He is currently 12 wins. The tournament, she certainly did not complain about her accelerated timeline after the win on Sunday.
“Maybe it’s happening fast, but I like it,” she told reporters. “There’s nothing I can say about it. If it’s happening fast, I’ll take it. You know. Winning two tournaments in a row isn’t bad, so I’m really happy about it.”
Jumping to No. 6 career-high rankings, Andreva has become the fifth woman in history to claim spring hard court events in two states in a row. And honestly, who is going to bet on her at this point?
As for the 23-year-old draper from England, Indian Wells marked the most important title of his career. He never made any progress past the quarterfinals at the Masters 1000 level before, as he surprised the field with impressive wins one after another.
Beating the teenage genius Joao Fonseca in the opener, Draper kept beating three Americans (Jenson Brooksby, No. 3-Seed Taylor Fritz, 11-Seed Ben Shelton) in consecutive matches before upsetting two-time defender champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals. In Sunday’s title match, Draper performed quick work for Holgirl Rune 6-2 and 6-2 in over an hour.
“To be honest, being able to be a champion here means the world to me,” Draper said after the match. “You obviously didn’t think about it until the final ball was over. Before the match, you’re thinking about all sorts of scenarios in your head, a lot of questions.
“And what makes it even better is that we can get through those questions and get the finals like I did. I’m really happy and really proud of what this week has achieved.”
Draper, who only dropped one set while driving, finished seventh in the top 10 for the first time in his career. He continues his hot streak in South Florida and is about to continue to become the eighth man from Roger Federer in 2017.
Other things I’ve learned from the Indian Wells, and that’s what it means for Miami. Miami makes sense for Miami, which will be held at Hard Rock Stadium alongside former major champions Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Sofia Kenin.
It was a tough stretch for the 24-time major champion. After the 2024 season when he saw him claim Olympic Gold but not winning tour-level titles, the 37-year-old was about to get back on track in 2025, but that hasn’t been the case so far.
He reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January, but had to retire after the first set due to a hamstring injury. He returned to the competition in Qatar about a month later, losing the opening round match. After that, after a video of him hobling to the airport turned to word of mouth, he later called it “addictive” as he accidentally hit himself with his ankle – and his Indian Wells status was uncertain. However, Djokovic arrived in California in good health and claimed to be in perfect health. However, his stay was short – he lost to lucky loser Botic van des Andschulpes, in his first match, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Djokovic later said that he was unable to find his rhythm and suffered from the court situation, but it appears to be in panic mode.
“So there’s no excuse for obviously poor performance,” Djokovic said. “When you play on the court this way, that’s not a great feeling, but congratulations to my opponent. I think you’re a bad day in the office.”
Djokovic has now arrived in Miami as the fourth seed and is playing in the event for the first time since 2019. He will receive a goodbye from the first round and will face Hamad Mededovich or Linky Hijikata in the 64th round. A draw.
Djokovic is a six-time champion in the event, but nine years have passed since his last title, but it’s hard to believe that his confidence has not wavered at least a bit at this point. Will Miami be a tournament where he rediscovers his winning methods? Or is that another point of concern in what they are adapting to the full season?
Should I worry about Iga Swiatek?
So far, the new season has been tough for Swiatek too. At least by her standards.
The 23-year-old and now the world No. 2 reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open, and last week at Qatar and Indian Wells, but she couldn’t hide her frustration that she wouldn’t make any further progress. 2024 BNP Paribas Open Champion and winner of five titles (four at 1000 levels, one major) in the first half of last season, Swiatek has not won a title since the French Open and she has not reached the final.
During his semi-final defeat to Andreva at the Indian Wells, Swiatek characteristically hit the ball to the ground and hit the ball in the direction of the child. On Monday, she took her to Instagram to express her regret over the incident. She went on to put her frustration into context, trying to explain her positive doping tests and the next month’s suspension in the fall of 2024.
“That’s not a healthy standard. Given that I felt my career was hanging in threads just six months ago, I (i) crying every week and didn’t want to step on the court,” Swiatek wrote. “After everything I went through today, I still process and agree with those experiences.”
Swiatek said last month in Dubai, when she was in another defeat to Andreva in the quarterfinals as defending champion, she found herself unable to quickly regain the top rankings and “deeply upsets” her.
But she ultimately thanked her fans, saying she would continue to set ambitious goals for herself, even if she “occasionally takes two steps forward and a step back.” She concluded by saying she would achieve her goals at her own pace.
So, like Djokovic, Swiatek considers pressing the reset button in Miami. She won the title in 2022 – as the last player to win the Sunshine Double – and despite her internal struggles, she still proved that she can do deep runs in the big tournament. Perhaps being so outspoken and vulnerable would be the unlikely catalyst for her first title in 2025.
But it’s not easy. Madison Keys, Karolina Man Va and her longtime foe Jelena Ostapenko, who defeated her in the Melbourne semi-finals, are all her quarter, and Andreva could be a potential semi-final opponent. But no matter what happens, Swiatek reassures that the season will turn into clay in a few weeks. And it might change everything for her.
Will Veterans step up?
Between the rise of young players like Andreeva and Draper, surprising winners like the key to the Australian Open, and the suspension and absence of Giannik Thinner, the male No. 1 (and the 2024 Miami Open champion), it’s an attractive season and is very difficult to predict. In 2025, there were only two women who won multiple single titles for Andreeva and Keys.
Some of the most experienced and top-ranked players like Swiatek have a spark of sparkle this year, but they simply were inconsistent. Sabalenka won in Brisbane and opened that year, but lost in the final at the Australian Open. There they were trying to secure the rare 3 Pete and Indian Wells. Alcaraz lost to Djokovic at the Australian Open, but after winning the trophy in Rotterdam in February, he was placed in a three-peat bid in the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Miami’s top seed Alexander Zverev fell to a sinner in the Australian Open Final and has been struggling ever since. He ended up losing to quarterfinalist Taron Glickspool in the opener for the Indian Wells. Miami’s No. 7 seed Medvedev reached the semi-finals with the Indian Wells, but was mysteriously beaten on a straight set of Rune after a season that began with two rounds of upset at the Australian Open.
Others who won the tour include Belindavensik (Abu Dhabi), who returned from maternity leave a few months ago, and revived Dennis Shapovalov (Dallas).
Yes, it’s been a very unexpected season so far.
Miami will have the chance for top players to regain top dog status and win one of their biggest titles on the hard court before shifting into the European clay season. Will the tennis hierarchy return to normal or will it continue to become unpredictable? Let’s look into it.
Will Americans earn better fares in Florida?
The US player started strong at Indian Wells, but in the end Asian Muhammad was the only American to wind up the trophy. The 33-year-old won the doubles title alongside Demi Schuurs and is currently in the eighth career-high rankings.
The Keys ran in the semi-finals and came close, but saw her 16-match winning streak come to an anti-climax close against Sabalenka, 6-0, 6-1. Shelton scored the best finish for the Americans in the quarterfinals.
Top-ranked Americans Fritz and Coco Gough were both handed out early exits in 16 rounds.
However, Americans have achieved more success than Southern California in recent years (except for the 2022 Fritz Indian Wells title). And they certainly have an advantage over many other climates, as they are used to hot and humid climates.
Gough, the third seed who turned 21 last week, is from nearby Delray Beach and has spoken openly about her love for the conditions. She has never made any progress past the fourth round of the tournament, but she is definitely looking for more in front of a beloved crowd, stuffed with her family and friends.
In addition to Gauff and Keys, Florida native Danielle Collins is the No. 14 seed and field champion, and she is trying to defend her title and hold valuable ranking points. She reached 32 rounds at Indian wells.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegra reached the quarter in 2024 and has since reached the US Open Finals, winning the Canadian Open title and won the trophy in Austin a few weeks ago. No. 8 seed Emma Navarro appears to have won the signature victory earlier this month, winning the title at the Merida Open. No. 17 seed Amanda Anisimova won his first 1000 level trophy in Qatar in February, allowing him to defeat someone at his best.
Opening in the US in 2024 and running the ATP Finals, Fritz is about to get the season back on track after an optimal start, reaching the quarter-finals in Miami in 2023. No to others who may be in their last position. 12th seed Tommy Paul, No. 13 Seed Shelton, No. 16 seed Francistiáfo, No. Includes 24 seed Sebastian Corda. John Isner was the last American to win an event in 2018. He also appeared in the final the following year.