Sabalenka survives Rybakina in Indian Wells epic to claim 10th WTA 1000 title
Aryna Sabalenka finally ended her Indian Wells curse in the most Sabalenka way possible – cracking her racquet, fighting back from the brink, and winning a third-set tiebreak 8-6 to claim the title 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6).
Aryna Sabalenka, Indian Wells 2026 | © Mark J. Terrill / SIPA
She said she was done losing big finals. On Sunday, Aryna Sabalenka made good on the promise.
The world No. 1 edged out Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in a final that lasted over two and a half hours and tested every nerve she had, claiming her first BNP Paribas Open title and her 10th WTA 1000 trophy in the process. Her 20th career hard-court title. Her season record: 17-1.
For Sabalenka, it was the exorcism of a very particular ghost. She had lost to Rybakina in this same final in 2023. She had lost here again to Mirra Andreeva in 2025. Now, finally, in her third attempt, the California desert was hers.
It did not come easy. Nothing between these two ever does.
Cracked racquet and instant come back by Sabalenka
The match went to a third set tiebreak, and there it reached its rawest, most unforgiving point – six games all, both women one swing from glory or heartbreak. It had nearly fallen apart long before that.
Down 3-6, 0-1 with Rybakina having broken early in the second set, Sabalenka cracked her racquet and turned to her coaching box in a heated exchange that felt, for a moment, like the familiar unraveling. It was not. It was, instead, the ignition. She won the next four games. She found her aggression again and never lost it.
The statistics told the strange story of what had unfolded over those 150 minutes. Rybakina actually won more points – 104 to Sabalenka’s 100. Both players exchanged three breaks of serve apiece. A match decided by the margins of margins, by two points in a tiebreak, by a single unreturnable serve.
At 5-5 in the tiebreak, Rybakina struck a backhand down the line to earn a match point. Sabalenka saved it with a cross-court backhand of her own. When Rybakina’s forehand volley sailed long, Sabalenka had her chance. She took it. An unreturnable serve. 8-6. Done.
Race for the No.1 still open
It was Sabalenka’s third consecutive third-set tiebreak win against Rybakina, following their encounters in Berlin in 2025 and Madrid in 2024. In the moments that tighten to their smallest and most brutal, she has consistently found a way.
Rybakina had been magnificent in reaching the final. Her wins over Jessica Pegula 6-1, 7-6(4) and Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-4 were the kind of performances that had made her the favourite in the eyes of many going into Sunday. She had won four of their five previous finals. She had beaten Sabalenka at the WTA Finals in Riyadh and at the Australian Open in January 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. She arrived in the desert as the woman who had defined this rivalry’s most recent chapter.
On Sunday, the chapter turned.
The tour now moves toward Mimai and the clay season. Sabalenka carries her No. 1 ranking into a season in which she has 4,035 points to defend in the next three months alone — an enormous target on her back. Rybakina, now confirmed at No. 2, has just 998 to defend through Roland-Garros. The arithmetic is unforgiving, and the Kazakh will be waiting every step of the way. They will meet again. They always do.
