WTA Indian Wells: Rybakina Advances, Defending Champion Andreeva Suffers Upset Exit

On March 10, Beijing time, the 2026 WTA/ATP Indian Wells tournament continued with third-round matches. The biggest upset of the day was created by Czech star Siniakova, who battled for 2 hours and 48 minutes to reverse the defeat of the women's singles defending champion and 8th seed Andreeva with a score of 4-6/7-6(5)/6-3, marking her first career advancement to the round of sixteen at this event.

Defending Champion Andreeva

As the defending champion, Andreeva had been performing well in this tournament, winning 12 consecutive games in the previous round to sweep through with "double bagels"; Siniakova also secured victories in the first two rounds by reversing defeats against Kenin and Fernandez. This match was their first encounter. In the first set, Andreeva rallied from a 0-3 deficit to win 6-4; the second set saw multiple breaks of serve from both sides, and a crucial volley error at the tie-break point led Andreeva to lose 6-7(5), equalizing the match. Entering the decisive set with negative emotions after smashing her racket, the defending champion failed to capitalize on the advantage of breaking serve first, ultimately losing 3-6.

This marks Siniakova's 12th career victory against a current Top 10 player. Next, she will compete against 9th seed Svitolina for a quarter-final spot, who advanced by defeating local player Kruger 6-4/6-2. Andreeva's defending journey ended in the third round; after losing 935 ranking points, her live ranking has dropped to No.10. Players still in the draw—Bencic, Muchova, Noskova, and Osaka—all have the opportunity to replace her in the Top 10 after this tournament.

Rybakina

Australian Open champion and 3rd seed Rybakina defeated Ukrainian player Kostyuk 6-4/6-4. In the next round, she will face British player Carter, who staged a comeback victory by defeating local 15th seed Keys 2-6/6-2/6-3.

Pegula

Bencic

2nd seed Swiatek defeated Sakkari 6-3/6-2, avenging her loss last month in Doha; 5th seed Pegula reversed the defeat against 26th seed Ostapenko 4-6/6-3/6-2; 12th seed Bencic defeated 22nd seed Mertens 6-2/6-3; 13th seed Muchova swept past Croatian player Ruzic 6-0/6-3, all successfully advancing to the round of sixteen.

Women's Singles Round of Sixteen Matchups

[1] Sabalenka vs Osaka [16]

[10] Mboko vs Anisimova [6]

[31] Era vs Noskova [14]

[Q] Gibson vs Paolini [7]

[5] Pegula vs Bencic [12]

Carter vs Rybakina [3]

Siniakova vs Svitolina [9]

[13] Muchova vs Swiatek [2]

(Text and editing: Dato, Image: Visual China)