Elena Rybakina avenged her loss in the Australian Open final by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to win the Indian Wells title.
After a 78-minute opening set, Kazakhstan’s Wimbledon champion Rybakina cruised to her first WTA 1000 win 7-6 (13-11) 6-4.
This is his first win over the world number two in five attempts.
In January, Belarusian Sabalenka defeated Rybakina in three sets in Melbourne to win her first Grand Slam.
Sabalenka dropped just one set en route to the Indian Wells final – her third this season – but under pressure from 10th seed Rybakina, the serving problems that plagued her last year returned as she went 10 in the first set. Hit double faults.
Rybakina, who defeated defending champion and world number one Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, needed six set points – four of them on her own serve – before advancing to a lengthy tiebreak. could
The second set proved to be a fast-paced affair, as the Moscow-born Rybakina broke Sabalenka’s serve in the first game.
After both players went begging for a couple of break points, Rybakina made a double break at 5-2 only to see her opponent break back in the next game.
But she won her first match point and will move to a career-high seventh position when the world rankings are updated on Monday.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Spanish top seed Carlos Alcaraz square off in the men’s final at Indian Wells from 23:00 GMT.
