Under the brutal Californian desert sun, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina served up a breathless scrap. After a gripping final decided in a third-set tiebreak, the world No. 1 edged it 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 after saving a match point.
Two and a half hours of war earned Sabalenka her first Indian Wells trophy.
Rybakina gets the jump
The Kazakh strode into the final with authority. Rock-solid on serve, Elena Rybakina struck first, earning the opening break.
She lost just five service points and took the first set 6-3.
She even broke early in the second and looked on course for another win over Sabalenka — she’d beaten her in their last two finals.
But the Belarusian wasn’t done.
Sabalenka turns the match
Down in the second, Sabalenka suddenly flipped the script. Hitting harder, playing looser, she rattled off four straight games and took control.
The world No. 1 levelled the match and completely reshaped the final.
It set up a third set that promised fireworks.
A third set on a knife-edge
The decider became a real mental battle.
Sabalenka thought she’d done the hard bit when she broke for 2-1, even though Rybakina had led 40-0 in that game. But the Belarusian couldn’t close when it mattered.
Serving for the title, she cracked and handed her rival a lifeline.
A near ten-minute game followed, during which Sabalenka earned five break points — all repelled by an ice-cold Rybakina.
So the trophy would be decided in a suffocating tiebreak.
Sabalenka saves a match point
The tiebreak served one last twist. Rybakina led 5-3 and had a match point.
Sabalenka refused to quit.
She clawed back point by point and finished it in a burst of relief.
At 27, she picks up the 23rd title of her career, her 10th at WTA 1000 level.
A rivalry taking shape
Despite the disappointment, Elena Rybakina praised her opponent during the trophy ceremony.
The Kazakh, who will rise to world No. 2, applauded the battle and is already keen to meet Sabalenka in more finals.
The winner was visibly moved.
Between desert heat, a recent engagement and finally nailing this title, Sabalenka summed it up with a grin:
This week will stay with her for a long time.
Photo by MATTHEW STOCKMAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
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