Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka reached the final of the BNP Paribas Open for the third time in four years after defeating Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Friday night.
The Belarusian, a two-time runner-up at the tournament, secured the straight-sets victory in one hour and 28 minutes on Stadium Court 1, keeping alive her bid to finally capture the prestigious Indian Wells Open title.
Sabalenka will face third-ranked Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in Sunday’s final after Rybakina defeated Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
The meeting will also serve as a rematch of the Australian Open final earlier this year, where Rybakina handed Sabalenka her only defeat of the 2026 season so far.
“I'll make sure that I'm more than ready on Sunday, and I'll bring my best tennis, make sure that this is the year,” Sabalenka said after the match.
The victory improved Sabalenka’s record to 12-1 this season and marked her sixth consecutive semifinal appearance on the WTA Tour. Her last defeat before reaching that stage came against Rybakina in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open last August.
Against Noskova, the world No. 1 relied heavily on her powerful serve. Sabalenka landed 38 of her 58 first serves and fired 11 aces to control the match from the outset, keeping the 14th-seeded Czech under constant pressure.
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“I would say that, yeah, serve was the biggest thing in this match,” she said. “I was trying to stay focused on my serve and try to put as much as pressure as I could on her serve. And, lucky me, I got this win.”
Sabalenka has enjoyed consistent success at Indian Wells but has yet to lift the trophy despite reaching the final twice previously. Sunday’s contest will therefore present another opportunity for the Belarusian to break that run and claim one of the biggest titles on the tour outside the Grand Slams.
Rybakina, however, has proven to be a difficult opponent. The Kazakh holds two wins in their last two meetings, including the Australian Open final earlier this year.
Overall, Sabalenka leads their head-to-head record 8-7 across 15 encounters, setting the stage for another closely contested final between two of the tour’s most powerful hitters.
Rybakina advanced to the final after a solid serving display against Svitolina, winning 78 per cent of her first-serve points, while the Ukrainian struggled with consistency and committed eight double faults.
With both players in strong form, Sunday’s final promises to be a high-quality contest between two of the leading stars of women’s tennis.
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