Indian Wells: Aryna Sabalenka defeats Elena Rybakina to win first Indian Wells championship

After suffering Grand Slam heartbreak at the start of the year, Sabalenka opted to take a break from competition, a decision that appears to be paying off.

She’s put in some dominant performances over the past two weeks and endured a lot of pressure against the opponents she regularly plays against.

The 27-year-old lost four of five final encounters with Rybakina but fought hard to claim her second trophy of the year.

Sabalenka didn’t just perform poorly against Rybakina, though, as six of her previous 10 finals ended in defeat.

Sabalenka’s last two Indian Wells finals also ended in failure – to Rybakina in 2023 and to Mila Andreeva last year.

After losing the first set – her first defeat in all competitions – Sabalenka could be forgiven for thinking she was destined to fail again, but the four-time Grand Slam singles champion showed incredible character to force her way back into the match.

Sabalenka is known for letting setbacks get in the way of her matches, but she dealt with them in a positive way, breaking twice in a row and saving four break points before the end of the second set.

The momentum continued into the decider, and when Sabalenka had a chance to serve in the match, an early break seemed to be enough for her.

However, Rybakina fought back and subsequently saved five break points of her own.

The final result of this twist-and-turn match lived up to expectations, with Sabalenka securing the victory in a wonderful tie-break.