WTA Indian Wells: Swiatek Falls to Svitolina, Sabalenka Defeats Mboko

On March 13, Beijing time, the 2026 ATP/WTA Indian Wells tournament commenced its singles quarterfinal matches, determining the semifinal lineup. The two-time champion and second seed, Swiatek, committed 42 unforced errors and 30 forced errors throughout the match. After a 129-minute battle, she lost 2-6, 6-4, 4-6 to Ukrainian star Svitolina, failing to advance to the semifinals.

Svitolina

Svitolina returns to the semifinals of this event after a seven-year absence. In 2019, she defeated Kenin, Barty, and Vondrousova consecutively, narrowly losing in three sets in the semifinals to the eventual champion, Andreescu. With prize money of $340,190 and 390 ranking points, Svitolina's total points surpass 4000, and her live ranking rises to No.8.

Swiatek has been halted in the quarterfinals in all three major tournaments she participated in this season (Australian Open, Doha, and Indian Wells), marking her worst start since 2021. She has only secured one victory in her last eight matches against Top 10 players. Following Rybakina's win in the quarterfinals later in the day, Swiatek's world ranking will be surpassed by Rybakina next week, dropping to No.3.

Rybakina

Rybakina faced home favorite and fifth seed Pegula in this round. They had met in the Australian Open semifinals this season, and this match largely followed the same pattern. In the first set, Rybakina dominated, winning swiftly in just 27 minutes. In the second set, Pegula seized the opportunity to lead 4-1, but Rybakina quickly adjusted to level the score. In the tiebreak, her powerful serve became the decisive factor, and she ultimately won 7-6(4) to secure the set and advance to the semifinals.

As the 2023 champion, Rybakina failed to reach deep rounds in this event over the past two years. This year, she returned with full confidence from her Australian Open victory, achieving her career-high ranking of No.2 here. She remarked after the match: "Everything happened too quickly. I had some fluctuations in the second set, but after that, I tried to fight for every point and stay close. My serve helped me, and I'm glad to win in two sets."

Sabalenka

Top seed Sabalenka emerged victorious in her match against Canadian rising star Mboko. She won the first set tiebreak 7-0 and secured the second set with one break, finalizing the score at 7-6(0)/6-4. This marks Sabalenka's third semifinal appearance at this event; in her previous two appearances, she reached the final but finished as runner-up. Although Mboko did not win, suffering her second consecutive loss against the world No.1, her performance in this match was still commendable. She delivered 9 aces and 28 winners, and faced 8 break points, only being broken once.

Sabalenka praised her opponent highly after the match: "(Mboko) is definitely a future star and a future Grand Slam champion. It's amazing to see these young girls attacking so proactively and decisively now. We will have many matches in the future. I hope I can still compete for many years. I'm happy to get the win, even though some aspects of my play today weren't ideal." She also joked that at 27, she is still young in life, but as an athlete, she already feels like an old lady.

Nosková

Sabalenka will face Czech player Nosková in the semifinals. Nosková battled through three sets, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to end the surprise run of Australian qualifier Gibson, advancing to the WTA 1000 semifinals again after last year's China Open.

Schedule for March 14

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