Elena Rybakina’s remarkable 12-match winning run against top-10 players finally came to an end at Indian Wells, where Aryna Sabalenka produced her finest performance of the season to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6). The match was a genuine battle between two of the sport’s most powerful players.
Rybakina had looked in control for much of the contest, winning the first set 6-3 and breaking to lead in the second. She was playing the kind of assertive, attacking tennis that had made her such a difficult opponent for Sabalenka previously.
Sabalenka’s response was determined and emotionally charged, winning four consecutive games to turn the second set around. From that point, the momentum shifted, and despite Rybakina’s valiant attempts to regain control, Sabalenka refused to yield.
The decisive moment in the final tiebreak came when Sabalenka produced a crunching backhand to save a match point. She then seized the first opportunity that came her way, winning the title on her first championship point after one of the most fiercely contested women’s finals of the year.
Sabalenka’s victory also moves the title race narrative forward, as Rybakina will move to world number two on Monday. For both players, Indian Wells 2026 represented their finest hard-court performances in months, suggesting the WTA tour is in excellent hands.
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