Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina set to compete for BNP Paribas Open championship
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time finalist at Indian Wells, will have another opportunity to claim the title after defeating Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals on Friday.
The top-seeded Sabalenka, hailing from Belarus, overcame Noskova in 1 hour and 28 minutes on Stadium Court 1 at the BNP Paribas Open.
She is set to compete against third-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the final on Sunday. Rybakina triumphed over ninth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine with a score of 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Sabalenka’s sole defeat in 2026 occurred against Rybakina in the Australian Open final. She will likely aim to rectify that loss as well as her 0-2 record in Indian Wells finals.
“I’ll ensure that I’m fully prepared on Sunday, and I’ll bring my best tennis, making sure that this is the year,” Sabalenka stated.
With her victory on Friday, Sabalenka improved her record to 12-1 in 2026, following her advancement to the semifinals for the sixth consecutive WTA Tour event. Her last defeat prior to that round was against Rybakina in the Cincinnati quarterfinals last August.
Sabalenka successfully landed 38 of 58 first serves against the 14th-seeded Noskova and recorded 11 aces, marking her third appearance in the final in four years.
“I would say that, yes, serving was the key factor in this match,” she remarked. “I focused on my serve and aimed to apply as much pressure as I could on her serve. And, fortunately, I secured this win.”
Sabalenka has emerged victorious in 8 of her 15 encounters with Rybakina, with two of those losses occurring in their most recent matchups. Rybakina achieved 78% success on her first serves against Svitolina, who committed eight double faults in their semifinal.
Source: espn.com
