rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and reigning Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina will face off for the BNP Paribas Open title after both secured straight-sets victories in the semifinals. This is a rematch of 2023 final, at which Rybakina won the championship 7-6(11) 6-4.
In her semifinal Friday, the 27-year-old Sabalenka enjoyed a straightforward 6-3 6-4 victory over Linda Noskova in just 1 hour and 28 minutes. The Belarusian was dominant on her serve, recording a 66% first serve percentage. She faced only three break points during the match and saved two of them to keep the 21-year-old Czech player at bay.
The four-time Grand Slam champion admitted she has a limited memory regarding her 2023 final loss to Rybakina in Indian Wells. “The thing is I don’t remember anything,” the top seed told the media. “I remember that it was the tiebreak, like, really tight tiebreak, and I remember I had set points, and I double-faulted.”
Looking ahead though, the top-ranked player knows what it will take to finally lift the Baccarat trophy: “I feel like against Elena, it’s always super-aggressive, it’s all about the first few balls in every point. If you dominate in those two points, I feel like most likely you’re gonna win the point. It’s very aggressive, very fast tennis.”
On the other side of the bracket, the 26-year-old Rybakina needed 1 hour and 46 minutes to defeat her Elina Svitolina 7-5 6-4. The world No. 3 took a 4-0 lead in the second set, prompting many fans to head for the exits to avoid traffic thinking the match was as good as over. However, the 31-year-old Ukrainian fought back, saving match points at 5-1 and 5-2. The representative of Kazakhstan eventually finished the match on her serve at 5-4.
Reminiscing about her last final here in 2023, the third seed said, “I remember that match, but we played so many times and I think it all depends in these moments, close moments, which we usually have for whoever steps in, plays more aggressive, more solid.” She added, “We know each other’s game very well. It’s a lot about the physical I would say, also because here, the ball is heavy, the rallies a little bit longer than on the other hard courts which are a little bit quicker.”
Overall, Sabalenka leads the head-to-head 8-7. Their last match was the 2026 Australian Open final, which Rybakina won 6-4 4-6 6-4.
The Indian Wells championship will be determined on Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach 35°C under partly cloudy skies. While the conditions will be hot, the players avoided a major heatwave arriving next week when temperatures will exceed 40°C.
