In a classic youth versus experience matchup, Mirra Andreeva will play in the WTA Finals singles draw for the first time, facing Elina Svitolina on Monday.

The 19-year-old Russian will compete in her first tour event since her second-place finish at the China Open, losing the final to Zheng Qinwen 5-7 4-6, while Svitolina last played at the Wuhan Open, falling to Sonay Kartal in the quarter-finals 2-6 6-2 4-6.

Match preview

Being only the second teenager to compete in the WTA Finals this decade, Mirra Andreeva will be out to prove that experience is not as important as we think.

Despite her age, the Russian player has rarely looked overwhelmed versus experienced ladies on tour in 2026, becoming the youngest woman to win the French Open this year since Monica Seles in 1992.

With 50 wins so far this season, Andreeva is the youngest women’s singles player to reach that mark in a single year since Caroline Wozniaki in 2009.

The third seed boasts a tremendous return game, leading the WTA tour this season with 303 breaks of serve, and converting nearly half (49.9%) of her 607 break-point opportunities.

On the opposite side, she has won 74.9% of her service games and 68.1% of her first serves overall in 2026.

Two of her last four hard-court defeats came after Andreeva had won the opening set, both on American soil at the Cincinnati and US Open.

It has been a long wait, but Elina Svitolina is back in the WTA Finals for the first time since 2019.

Only four players in the Open Era have had a longer gap between consecutive WTA Finals appearances than Svitolina’s seven-year hiatus.

Although she has not competed in this event for a while, her WTA Finals record is impressive, with the Ukrainian boasting a 10-3 mark all-time, the best among the eight qualifiers this year.

Since the return of the round-robin format in 2003, only Serena Williams and Justine Henin have a better winning percentage at this tournament than Svitolina among players with at least two appearances.

Svitolina, the 2018 WTA Finals champion, has made the quarter-finals in her last two singles tournaments but has been eliminated in the last 32 of her last two singles events on US soil.

In 2026, she has won 71.8% of her service games and converted 50.4% of her break points across all surfaces.

Head To Head

Indian Well Open (2025) - Quarter-finals: Andreeva wins 7-5 6-3

Australian Open (2026) - Round of 16: Svitolina wins 6-2 6-4 

The first time they met in California, youth was served as Andreeva won 82% of her first serves while converting four break points to advance.

Svitolina evened the series in the first major of this year, winning 57% of her second serves against her opponent while hitting four aces and conceding only one.

We say: Andreeva to win in three sets

Andreeva plays fearlessly, and we believe that her return game could make the difference in a match that may go down to the wire.