Mirra Andreeva, only 17, storms into BNP Paribas Open semifinals, will face Iga Swiatek next

She's introduced herself to the tennis world at large, and now she's introducing herself to the tennis fans of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Mirra Andreeva, the 17-year-old super talent from Russia, has stormed into the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open. Already the No. 9-ranked player in the world, Andreeva dispatched Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-3 to set up a tantalizing semifinal against Iga Swiatek on Friday. Both players have made it to the semifinal without dropping a set.

Andreeva came into this event hot and has stayed hot. She won the most recent WTA event in Dubai, which was also her first Masters 1000 win. She made the fourth round of the Australian Open before losing to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

During that Dubai victory, she actually beat Swiatek along the way so she will have a recent success against Swiatek to fall back on. But Swiatek has been a machine at this event this year, setting records with how easily she's cruised into the semifinals.

Will that give her confidence in Friday's semifinal?

"It was my first win over her. You know, it doesn't give me any benefit to our match tomorrow, because what happened happened, and the past is in the past. Tomorrow is going to be a new day, new match, new conditions, new country. Everything is different," she said. "You know, I'm going to try my best to prepare in the best way for our match tomorrow, and I'm sure that the match is going to be great, because our head-to-head is 1-all. I think it's going to be an entertaining match, and we're just going to see who is going to be better tomorrow."

Against Svitolina, it was a back-and-forth for the first set, but Andreeva showcased her complete game in winning the crucial points.

She won 82.4% of her first serves and even more impressively, 66.6% of her second serves. She was only broken once and broke Svitolina four times.

Andreeva is ranked No. 9 in the world and she surprised the Tennis Channel by saying she did not know she was in the top 10. But in an interview with the media, she explained why. It's because of a bet she made with her mom. If she made it in the top 20 before last year ended, she could get a dog.

"I was supposed to be top 20 by the end of last year, and I did it when I won against Magda Linette in Beijing. I think I was 19 or 18, and I sent the screen shot to my mom. She was like, No. I'm, like, Yes," she said. "That was the match when I entered the top 20."

That's why once she got in the top 20 she stopped paying attention. Did she get the dog yet?

"Well, no dog yet, because we're still kind of thinking what's gonna be better. I'm thinking to get a girl, because the girls are basically they're a bit smaller in the size, so it's gonna be easier to travel with a girl," Andreeva said. "I'm thinking to get an ultra mini labradoodle. It's going to be a Labrador mixed with poodle, and it's ultra mini, so going to be even smaller than a mini version. It's going to take time until the dog that I want will be born."

Holger Rune def. Tallon Griekspoor

Tallon Griekspoor has had some magic in his racket at the BNP Paribas Open this year, and it looked like that would continue Thursday when he took the first set, but then it all went poof.

The unseeded player from the Netherlands, who beat No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev in the second round, had No. 12 Holger Rune on the ropes in the quarterfinal, but the veteran from Denmark took over and won 12 of the final 15 games for a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3.

The win puts Rune into his first semifinal at this event and only his third ever at a Masters 1000 event. He did make the quarterfinals here last year. He'll face Daniil Medvedev who outlasted rising French star Arthur Fils 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7).

If he wins this tournament on Sunday, it would be the biggest moment of Rune's career. He's never made even the semis at a Grand Slam and his only Masters 1000 title was the 2022 Paris Masters.

On Thursday, Rune forced the action and Griekspoor made 47 unforced errors to Rune's 26. Conversely, Rune hit 33 winners to Griekspoor's 18.

This is already an excellent result for Rune who has not had a great 2025. He lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open and hasn't won more than one match at any tournament since. He was one of the many players who pulled out of his most recent event in Mexico with food poisoning. But he's healthy now and playing some great tennis.

Aryna Sabalenka def. Liudmila Samsonova

The crowd inside Stadium 1 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden backed top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, helping her to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian Liudmila Samsonova to reach the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open.

Sabalenka, of Belarus, will play American Madison Keys on Friday in a rematch of the Australian Open final in January. Keys won that one, and Sabalenka knows that Keys will have the crowd behind her.

Following her win over Samsonova, Sabalenka playfully asked the crowd to give her some love Friday, even if it wasn't the same amount given Thursday.

Stadium announcer Andrew Krasny asked Sabalenka if there was a bit of a rivalry between she and Keys, and Sabalenka wasn't coy in response.

"I mean, yeah," Sabalenka said with a laugh. "Hopefully, I'm going to do better than at the Australian Open."

Sabalenka called the conditions on Thursday, "definitely crazy." She and Samsonova withstood chilly temperatures and strong winds on Stadium Court, which didn't deter several thousand from enduring the match inside the stadium.

Sabalenka saved both break points she faced in the match, but Samsonova wasn't so fortunate. She saved just 3-of-8 in a loss that was decisive.