Aryna Sabalenka Bests Elena Rybakina In a Thriller To Claim Indian Her First Wells Title
Aryna Sabalenka has won a lot of tennis matches. Grand Slams, Masters titles, you name it. But Indian Wells? That one had been slipping through her fingers. Not anymore.
On Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open, she stood in the middle of Stadium 1 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and finally held the trophy she had been chasing since 2023. She defeated Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in a two-hour-and-31-minute thriller that had everything: momentum swings, a match point saved, a 12-minute game that felt like its own separate sporting event, and a tiebreak that nearly gave the crowd a collective heart attack.
Sabalenka Starts Slow
If you tuned in late, you would’ve had no idea the world’s No. 1 player was on the court. Rybakina came out firing, and we mean firing. A reported 10% of her forehands in the first set were clocked above 90 mph.
Sabalenka, usually about as quiet on court as a car alarm, was oddly subdued. She barely glanced at her coach’s box. She wasn’t barking at herself, wasn’t bouncing around between points with her usual intensity. It looked like even she knew Rybakina was in a different zone. The first set went to the Kazakh, 6-3.
Sabalenka Flips the Script
Then something clicked. After getting broken again to open the second set, Sabalenka responded the way four-time Grand Slam champions tend to respond. She broke back immediately at love. Then she held. Then she broke again in the fourth game. Then she punched her ticket to a deciding set with a 6-3 second set of her own. The score line was level. The momentum? Fully Sabalenka’s.
The Third Set Was a Masterpiece
Sabalenka grabbed an early break in the third set and appeared to be cruising toward the finish line. Then Rybakina reminded everyone why she’s about to be ranked No. 2 in the world.
Down 4-5 and serving to stay in the match, Rybakina buckled down and converted the break points she had been missing all set. Suddenly, it was 5-5, and the entire stadium collectively leaned forward in their seats.
What followed was arguably the game of the tournament. Rybakina serving at 5-5, Sabalenka refusing to die. Six deuces. Twelve-plus minutes. Points that felt like they lasted a calendar year. Rybakina eventually held, and a tiebreak was the only fair way to end this thing.
Sabalenka Saves Match Point, Then Closes It Out
The tiebreak was tight as a drum through six points. Rybakina mini-broke to lead 4-3, then pushed it to 5-3. Sabalenka mini-broke right back to pull within one. Then Rybakina got to championship point, 6-5, and had a chance to send Sabalenka home empty-handed for the third time.
Sabalenka pulled out a signature cross-court backhand winner. Championship point saved. Two points later, the match was over. Sabalenka won the tiebreak 8-6 and claimed her first Indian Wells title. It is her 23rd WTA title overall and her 10th Masters 1000 championship.
What This Win Means
Let’s put this in perspective. Sabalenka entered this final with a 1-4 record in WTA finals against Rybakina. Four straight losses to the same player in finals, including the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh and the 2026 Australian Open just weeks earlier. Before her semifinal win last week, she reportedly said she was “so done” with losing big finals.
Turns out, she meant it. Sabalenka also had a pretty eventful two weeks off the court. She welcomed a new puppy named Ash and got engaged to longtime boyfriend Georgios Frangulis. At that point, the Indian Wells trophy was really just the cherry on top of what had already been a memorable fortnight.
She earned $1,151,380 in prize money for the win. Rybakina, despite falling short, pockets $612,340 and will officially rise to World No. 2 when the rankings drop Monday.
Sabalenka Heads To Miami As Reigning Champion
The WTA Tour now heads to Miami, where Sabalenka enters as the defending champion. If the last two weeks are any indication, she is not exactly running on fumes. Three years of Indian Wells heartbreak. One week of life-changing personal moments. It was one of the best finals the women’s draw has produced in recent memory.
Sabalenka didn’t just win a tennis match on Sunday. She exorcised a demon, settled a rivalry score, and reminded the tennis world that when it matters most, she finds a way.
