WTA Indian Wells: Sabalenka defeats Noskova, advances to championship match for third time in four years

On March 14, 2026, at the WTA1000 Indian Wells tournament, the women's singles semifinals commenced. In the first semifinal, Sabalenka defeated the 14th seed Noskova with a score of 6-3/6-4, securing her place in her 14th WTA1000 final and her 43rd tour-level final. This marks her third appearance in the championship match of this event in the past four years. Previously, Sabalenka had lost in the finals in 2023 and 2025 to Rybakina and Andreeva respectively.

Sabalenka

“This is definitely one of the best matches I've played at Indian Wells. I'm very satisfied with my performance and thrilled to have another chance to compete for the trophy. I'm talking about the championship, not the runner-up position, because I've had enough of finishing as runner-up (laughs).” Regarding her potential final opponent, Sabalenka made a precise prediction: “If I had to choose, I think it will be Rybakina. If she continues her strong serving performance as she has this year, she will have many opportunities. Her movement is excellent, she's very smart, and currently she's doing everything right.”

Since the inception of the Indian Wells tournament in 1989, Sabalenka has become the first female player in the event's history to reach the final consecutively for two years as the world number one. With this victory, Sabalenka improved her season record against Top 20 players to 7 wins and 1 loss, with the sole defeat occurring in the Australian Open final against Rybakina.

The final spots for the men's doubles and mixed doubles events have also been determined. Lindeknech/Vasserot continued their advance, defeating Bambri/Joransson 7-5/6-7(3)/10-5. This cousin pair overcame three teams composed of singles specialists in the previous rounds, including Medvedev/Lena Qian, Djokovic/Sitsipas, and Kachanov/Rublev. They will face Andreozzi/Ginar in the final, who reversed the top seeds Granollers/Zeballos with a score of 6-7(13)/6-3/10-5.

The top seeds Dabrowski/Graspool narrowly eliminated the Greek pair Sitsipas/Sakkari 6-2/4-6/13-11 in the semifinals and will compete against Bencic/Koboli for the mixed doubles championship title. The latter defeated last year's US Open mixed doubles champions Errani/Vavassori with a score of 6-3/6-3.

（Text and editing/ Wang Fei, Image/ Visual China）