JAKARTA - World number one tennis player Aryna Sabalenka managed to emerge as the champion at Indian Wells 2026 after dramatically saving a championship point against Elena Rybakina.
Sabalenka bounced back from the first set and was on the verge of defeat when her opponent got the championship point in the third set tie-break, but finally won 3-6, 6-3, and 7-6 (6) to get her first title at Indian Wells on Monday, March 16, 2026, Indonesian time.
"It's been an amazing week. This is really a tennis paradise and I'm always happy to come here. Thank God I finally got this trophy. It's everything, it's a dream," Sabalenka said after the match, reported from the WTA official website.
In addition to being able to achieve his dream at Indian Wells, this success also repaid Sabalenka's string of failures in the previous four meetings with Rybakina in the final match since Indian Wells 2023.
Three other final defeats Sabalenka experienced when meeting Rybakina after that were recorded at the 2024 Brisbane event, the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh, and the Australian Open Grand Slam earlier this year.
"With so many finals ending in my defeat, it gave me a lot of lessons that basically the game is not over until it's really over," Sabalenka said.
The match was intense from the start with a very small point difference. Rybakina took control in the first set with a 4-2 lead and ended it with a score of 6-3 after Sabalenka's backhand shot was wide.
Sabalenka faced continued pressure into the start of the second set after she committed a double fault that put her opponent ahead. However, he showed mental toughness by winning four straight games to lead 4-1 and eventually forcing the match to the third set.
The tension of the match intensified in the decisive set. Rybakina was able to put pressure back by breaking Sabalenka's serve to tie the score at 5-5.
In a critical situation in the tie-break, Sabalenka who was trailing 3-5 managed to bounce back and save the match point through a stunning backhand winner before finally closing the match with a hard serve to lift her first trophy here after failing in the previous two finals.
In addition to reaching the final round in the 2023 edition, Sabalenka also returned to the same stage in last season's calendar. However, he lost in a three-set battle against Mirra Andreeva.
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