Sabalenka Ends Rybakina Nightmare With Fighting Indian Wells Victory

Aryna Sabalenka had lost four consecutive finals to Elena Rybakina, including a painful defeat at the Australian Open just weeks earlier. At Indian Wells, she ended that sequence in the most dramatic way imaginable, saving a match point before winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) to claim the title.
Rybakina had gone into the final on a 12-match winning streak against top-10 opponents and immediately imposed herself on the contest, winning the first set 6-3 with authority. When she broke early in the second set, a fifth final victory against Sabalenka appeared likely.
The turning point came as Sabalenka, showing the mental strength that has defined her career, won four consecutive games in the second set to take it 6-3 and level the match. From that point, momentum had shifted, though Rybakina continued to compete ferociously.
In the third set, Sabalenka served for the match at 5-4 only to be broken by Rybakina, who then saved five break points in the following game to keep herself in the match. It was a sequence that tested Sabalenka’s nerve to its limit.
The deciding tiebreak went all the way to 6-5 before Sabalenka produced her defining backhand to save the match point. She then won on her very next opportunity to become Indian Wells champion for the first time. Her celebrations on court, with her fiance and new puppy, were the perfect ending to the most extraordinary week of her career.