On Sunday at Indian Wells, the prodigious Mirra Andreeva orchestrated another astonishing upset, overcoming a first-set deficit to dethrone world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (2-6, 6-4, 6-3). With the win, Andreeva secured her second WTA 1000 title in as many months, following her solid performance at the Dubai Duty Free Championships in February.

Sunday’s match was a testament to Andreeva’s evolving game. Initially unsettled by Sabalenka’s relentless aggression in the opening set, she quickly recalibrated and steadied herself. Rather than attempting to match the Belarusian’s brute force, she employed guile—absorbing Sabalenka’s power, keeping her on the move, finding her angles, and luring Sabalenka into a cascade of unforced errors in the second and third sets. It was a victory not just of skill but of intelligence, a sign of a player maturing before our eyes.

It is evident that under the guidance of Conchita Martínez, Andreeva’s game has reached new heights. Yet, what makes her ascent all the more riveting is how much she is learning to navigate the sport on her own terms. In merely ten months, she has gone from a player fueled by instinct to one wielding both instinct and strategy in perfect harmony.

And if the significance of “ten months” seems arbitrary, allow me to illuminate.

At last year’s Roland Garros, Andreeva stunned Sabalenka in a gripping three-set battle to reach her maiden Grand Slam semifinal. What lingered in my mind from that match, however, was not just the result but her candid post-match reflection:

"Honestly, I just—I don't know. I kind of see the game. I just play wherever I want, I don't even have a plan. When I see an open space on the court, I try to play there. Or if I think that maybe she will run there, I try to play behind her back or something like this. Me and my coach, we had a plan today, but again, I didn't remember anything. So yes, I just tried to play as I feel."

Here was a player who had, on pure instinct, toppled one of the most dominant forces in the game. And while instinct is a vital component of the game itself, it is the marriage of instinct with discipline that forges champions.

That moment at Roland Garros left me contemplating the future: What if she adhered to the actual plan? How formidable would she become when playing with that level of intention from the outset? How dominant will she be when her physical and emotional selves harmoniously reach their peak maturation?

Since that day, Andreeva has been answering these questions with remarkable clarity.

Perhaps the most telling sign of her transformation came not in a match-winning shot, but in a changeover moment last week. As the camera panned to Andreeva during her match against Iga Świątek, it captured something important—the notebook. Pages filled with meticulous observations on her opponents, as though she were systematically studying them, planning her calculated elimination of them like The Bride (Uma Thurman) in Kill Bill. 

This measured approach—this evolution from instinct to strategic purpose—perhaps is the key to this recent ascension, not that we didn’t see it coming. Her run last week mirroring that of Madison Keys' commanding run to the Australian Open title earlier this year, with victories over Rybakina, Svitolina, Świątek, and Sabalenka. Andreeva’s Indian Wells conquest came as no surprise really, and serves as further proof that she’s gained ground on the game’s best players.

The question is no longer if she will win a Grand Slam, but when. Whether on the clay of Roland Garros, where she has already fared well, or on the hard courts that increasingly seem to suit her power and skill set, her Grand Slam coronation appears inevitable.

Her next step? Continue refining the balance between instinct and execution. The plan seems to be in place, and she seems intent on sticking to it.