Sabalenka maintains authority to overcome Mboko challenge
Aryna Sabalenka won against Victoria Mboko 7-6, 6-4 on Thursday evening. She’ll face the winner of the match between Czech Linda Noskova, the No 14 seed, and Australian Talia Gibson in the next round
Aryna Sabalenka, Indian Wells 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka defeated Canadian No 10 seed Victoria Mboko 7-6, 6-4 on Thursday evening to secure her place in the BNP Paribas Open semifinals.
The world No 1 demonstrated a clinical ability to manage the scoreline despite facing a much more competitive challenge than her previous encounter with the teenager. Sabalenka relied on her baseline power to navigate a tense opening set tie-break and remained disciplined when Mboko threatened to extend the contest in the second.
“Yeah, it was a tough battle today”, Sabalenka said. “Super happy with the performance. Happy the level I played on those key moments in each set, and of course happy to be through this difficult round.”
Although the Belarusian found less margin for error than during her dominant run at the Australian Open, she exerted her physical presence during the most critical exchanges of the match.
Mboko had reached this stage following impressive wins over Amanda Anisimova and Anna Kalinskaya but could not find a way to break the top seed’s resolve.
Sabalenka awaits Noskova or Gibson in Indian Wells semifinals
Sabalenka enters the final four with significant momentum after navigating a difficult path that included wins over Naomi Osaka and Jaqueline Cristian. Because she has managed to find her best level during high-pressure moments, the Belarusian remains the heavy favorite to reach the final. Mboko departs the desert after a breakthrough week that saw her push the world’s top player to the limit over two competitive sets.
“In a tie-break, I just try to play point by point, trying to stick to the game plan and stay aggressive, and then basically, yeah, take it one step at a time. I feel like the moment I will feel relaxed, I will definitely start losing. So I felt like that’s why I have been really successful in those tiebreaks, because I take it really serious.”
This victory sets up a semifinal matchup against either Czech No 14 seed Linda Noskova or Australian Talia Gibson.
