WTA Indian Wells: Gauff Withdraws, Era Achieves Another Major Victory, Sabalenka and Osaka Advance to the 16th Round

On March 9 Beijing time, the WTA1000 Indian Wells tournament commenced the third round of singles in the upper half. The women's singles event witnessed the biggest upset of the day, as fourth seed Gauff withdrew due to a left arm injury after trailing 2-6/0-2 against Filipino rising star Era, with the match lasting only 54 minutes. Era's live ranking has risen to No.29, and she will face fourteenth seed Noskova in the fourth round.

Gauff Withdraws, Era Advances to the Fourth Round of IW for the First Time

Noskova

Gauff requested a medical timeout for the first time when trailing 2-5 in the first set. Era subsequently broke serve to win the first set 6-2. During the break between sets, the doctor wrapped Gauff's left forearm with a thick bandage. After losing the first two games of the second set, the American player decided she could not continue. Gauff, known for her strong physical condition, has rarely withdrawn from matches in her career; her only previous withdrawal was at the 2022 Cincinnati tournament.

As a world top-five player, Gauff's journey this season has been fluctuating. After being swept by Svitolina in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, she failed to recover promptly during the Middle East season: she lost in the first round at Doha, and in the semifinals at Dubai she again fell to the same opponent. Moving to the Sunshine Double, returning to her home court, Gauff not only failed to regain her best form but is now also troubled by injury, undoubtedly adding new challenges for her.

World number one Sabalenka easily defeated Christian 6-4/6-1. The match lasted only 71 minutes; this marks Sabalenka's 23rd consecutive victory against players ranked outside the top 20 worldwide. She will face four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the fourth round, who delivered a "sandwich bagel" to win 6-1/3-6/6-1 in three sets against Osorio.

Naomi Osaka

It is somewhat surprising that Sabalenka and Osaka have only faced each once before, dating back to the fourth round of the US Open eight years ago, when Osaka won in three sets and ultimately claimed the championship. Sabalenka said after the match: "I hope I have the chance to get revenge. I really want to play against her." Osaka stated: "Obviously she is performing very steadily, she is the world number one, (playing against her) is a huge motivation for me. I am excited to compete with her and very much looking forward to it."

The focal match between sixth seed Anisimova and former US Open champion Raducanu ended in a one-sided manner, with the two-set score fixed at 6-1/6-1; the American player swept through to advance in just 52 minutes. Anisimova blasted 21 winners throughout the match, while Raducanu had only 2. This is the second time in Anisimova's career that she has reached the 16th round at Indian Wells; her last appearance at this stage dates back to her debut in 2018. Anisimova's opponent in the fourth round is tenth seed Mboko, who eliminated twenty-third seed Kalinskaya 6-4/6-1.

Paolini

Seventh seed Paolini narrowly advanced, struggling to defeat Australian player Tomljanovic 7-5/5-7/6-1. She will face qualifier Gibson in the fourth round, who upset seventeenth seed Tauson 7-6(2)/4-6/6-4.

Chinese faces in the women's doubles event continue to advance; Guo Hanyu/Mladenovic defeated Panova/Siegmund 6-4/6-3 in straight sets to reach the women's doubles quarterfinals, and will face the winner between Chinese pair Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan and top seeds Paolini/Errani.

Fourth Round Matchups in the Upper Half of Women's Singles

Sabalenka[1] vs Naomi Osaka[16]

Anisimova[4] vs Mboko[10]

Noskova[14] vs Era[31]

Paolini[7] vs Gibson[Q]

（Text, Editor/Wang Fei, Image/Visual China）