INDIAN WELLS, California — Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina beat Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-4 on Friday (Saturday in Manila) to book an Indian Wells title showdown with Aryna Sabalenka, the woman she beat to lift the trophy in Melbourne.
World No. 1 Sabalenka, who also fell to Kazakhstan’s Rybakina in the 2023 Indian Wells final, advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Czech Linda Noskova.
The Belarusian star, chasing her first Indian Wells title after runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2025.
Sabalenka fired 37 winners, including 11 aces, applying relentless pressure from the baseline against her 21-year-old opponent.
She broke the big-serving Noskova twice as she powered to a 5-1 lead in the opening set.
There was a hiccup as she tried to serve out the set and Sabalenka, who had lost just one point in her first three service games, was broken.
Noskova kept the set alive with a battling hold in a marathon eighth game, fending off a set point with a service winner and sealing the game with an ace.
Serving for the set again, Sabalenka opened with a double fault and went down 0-30, but a pair of big serves and a backhand winner brought her to set point and she claimed it with an ace.
Sabalenka broke Noskova to open the second and was on her way. Noskova fended off a second break, but she was unable to convert a break opportunity in the eighth game as Sabalenka brought it home, capping the victory with a forehand winner on her third match point. AFP