Aryna Sabalenka wins her maiden Indian Wells title: Key stats
What's the story
World number one Aryna Sabalenka has won her first BNP Paribas Open title (Indian Wells), overcoming a set and a break down to defeat Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in the final. The victory comes after Sabalenka's runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2025. It is also her second title of the year after Brisbane in January. Here are further details and stats.
Path to victory
Sabalenka's journey to the final
Sabalenka's path to her maiden Indian Wells title was not easy. She had a bye in the first round and then defeated Himeno Sakatsume (6-4, 6-2) in the second round. Sabalenka then beat Jaqueline Cristian (6-4, 6-1) in the third round before overcoming Naomi Osaka (6-2, 6-4) in the fourth round. In the quarter-finals, she defeated Victoria Mboko (7-6(0), 6-4) and Linda Noskova (6-3, 6-4) in semi-finals to reach the final against Rybakina.
Final showdown
A look at the match summary
In the final, Sabalenka showed her resilience by breaking back immediately to win the second set and take the match into a decider. The third set was full of drama as Rybakina broke serve at 5-4 to level at 5-5. She then held after saving five break points in a grueling 12-minute game to lead 6-5. But Sabalenka kept her cool and forced a tiebreaker where she clinched victory with two straight points after saving championship point at 6-5.
H2H
H2H record and recent meetings
The two players have faced each other 16 times on the WTA Tour in women's singles. Sabalenka owns a 9-7 win-loss record. They last met in the final of 2026 Australian Open where Rybakina claimed victory (6-4, 4-6, 6-4). Before that, Rybakina also beat Sabalenka in the final of WTA Finals 2025. She won the trophy after recording a scoreline worth 6-3, 7-6.
Information
2nd win in finals for Sabalenka versus Rybakina
Rybakina is 4-2 over Sabalenka in finals from 6 meetings. Sabalenka won the pair's maiden meeting in a final at 2023 Australian Open. Thereafter, Rybakina was on a four-match winning run. She beat Sabalenka at 2023 Indian Wells, 2024 Brisbane, 2025 WTA Finals and 2026 AO. And now, Sabalenka overcame Rybakina.
Records
Massive records made by Sabalenka
As per Opta, Sabalenka is the first player to win a WTA-1000 final after having saved match point since Iga Swiatek in Madrid 2024, against Sabalenka. Sabalenka has managed to claim her 20th hard court WTA level title. She became the first player to reach this milestone since Victoria Azarenka (Cincinnati 2020). Sabalenka is also the fourth player to claim 10+ WTA-1000 titles since the format's introduction in 2009, after Serena Williams (13), Swiatek (11) and Azarenka (10).