Tauson survives tiebreak marathon to reach round of 32 in Indian Wells

Clara Tauson continued her impressive 2026 campaign on Friday evening, overcoming Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 7-6(9), 6-2 to advance to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. The 23-year-old Dane (ranked No. 17) was forced to show both her power and her persistence in a match where the opening set threatened to go either way.

The first set was a high-intensity affair defined by Putintseva’s relentless counter-punching and Tauson’s aggressive baseline pressure. Neither player could separate themselves, leading to a marathon tiebreak that saw momentum swing several times.

In the opening set, Tauson appeared to be in total control of the tiebreak, racing to a 3-0 lead and eventually holding a commanding 6 points to 3 advantage. However, after Putintseva clawed back to create her own opportunities, Tauson was forced to save two set points before finally clinching the set on her fifth attempt. Tauson eventually converted her opportunity to take the breaker 11-9, a result that visibly deflated the world No. 76.

Next Opponent: Talia Gibson

Having survived the opening set scare, the 6’0″ (182cm) Tauson took full control in the second. While Putintseva, who had entered the match with confidence following a dominant 6-4, 6-2 win over former champion Paula Badosa, attempted to use her variety to disrupt the rhythm, Tauson’s weight of shot proved too much. The Dane broke twice in the final set to seal the win and improve her head-to-head record against the Kazakh to 2-0.

Tauson arrives in the desert in elite form, having already reached the quarter-finals in Dubai last month (losing a thriller to Jessica Pegula) and the semi-finals in Abu Dhabi. She is currently sitting at a career-high-adjacent ranking of No. 17.

Tauson moves on to the round of 32, where she will face Australian Talia Gibson. The No.122 in the world won against Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No 11 seed, 6-3, 7-5.