Aryna Sabalenka Reaches Indian Wells Final, Set to Face Elena Rybakina

Aryna Sabalenka , the top-ranked Belarusian, will get another shot at claiming her first Indian Wells title after defeating Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals. The match lasted 1 hour 28 minutes on Stadium Court 1 at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday.

Sabalenka, a two-time runner-up at the tournament, will face third-ranked Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in Sunday’s final. Rybakina advanced by beating ninth-ranked Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

This final is a rematch of the 2026 Australian Open final , where Rybakina had defeated Sabalenka. It also presents an opportunity for Sabalenka to improve her 0-2 record in Indian Wells finals . “I’ll make sure that I’m more than ready on Sunday, and I’ll bring my best tennis, make sure that this is the year,” she said.

With this victory, Sabalenka’s 2026 record improved to 12-1 , marking her sixth consecutive WTA Tour event reaching at least the semifinals. Her last loss before Indian Wells was to Rybakina in the Cincinnati quarterfinals last August.

Serving proved crucial as Sabalenka hit 38 of 58 first serves and notched 11 aces against the 14th-seeded Noskova. “Serve was the biggest thing in this match. I was trying to stay focused on my serve and put as much pressure as I could on her serve. And, lucky me, I got this win,” she said.

In their head-to-head , Sabalenka leads 8-7 , though Rybakina has won their last two encounters . In her semifinal, Rybakina was strong on serve, landing 78% of first serves, while Svitolina struggled with eight double faults, giving Rybakina the edge.

The final promises to be a tense showdown , as Sabalenka aims to break her Indian Wells jinx and Rybakina seeks to maintain her upper hand in their recent encounters, setting up a highly anticipated clash for the BNP Paribas Open title.