Elena Rybakina moved a step closer to the Indian Wells title after defeating Elina Svitolina 7–5, 6–4 in the semifinals. The win sets up a final against World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. With both players in strong form, the showdown promises to be a tight contest, and the Kazakh star isn’t backing down from the challenge.

Speaking ahead of the final, Rybakina admitted that she will have to hold her serve well, or else Sabalenka can make things tough for her.

“She (Sabalenka) is very aggressive and puts in a lot of pressure when I serve. So it’s very important for me to serve well. I am also playing a same style of tennis and am also trying to be aggressive and stay on top of the ball. It is going to be tough here, especially due to the heavy balls. It is going to be an interesting one, and I will do my best to hopefully win it,” she said.

Though she defeated Svitolina in straight sets, the 26-year-old wasn’t fully satisfied with her performance in the semifinals.

“Happy for the win, of course, but today wasn’t my greatest performance, and I knew that Elina is a tough opponent. So, winning the match wasn’t easy, but I am happy that I did it and won it in straight sets,” she said.

The World No. 3’s upcoming meeting against Sabalenka will be their second of the year so far. The two had previously met in the Australian Open final, where Rybakina claimed her second Grand Slam title by winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

A similar pattern had followed earlier in the 2025 WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia, where the Kazakh had stamped her authority with a 6-3, 7-6 victory. Not to forget that she had also defeated Sabalenka 7-6, 6-4 when the two had met at the 2023 Indian Wells final.

Though the Belarusian currently leads the H2H by 8-7, she is the one who looks to be under more pressure out of the two due to her recent defeats in their matchup. However, her Indian Wells campaign so far has been nothing short of flawless. Sabalenka is yet to lose a set in the competition and has bulldozed past the five players that she has faced.

The results include a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the Round of 16 and a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko in the last 8. She qualified for the final with a dominant 6-3, 6-4 win over Czechia’s Linda Nosková. As she heads into the highly anticipated clash against Rybakina, Sabalenka vowed not to let the painful history repeat itself.

Aryna Sabalenka is hopeful of clinching her maiden Indian Wells title

After losing two consecutive finals to the Kazakh, the 27-year-old admitted that she wants to change the outcome this time around.

“I’ll make sure that I’m more than ready, and I’ll bring my best tennis, make sure that this is the year,” she said at the post-match press conference.

Sabalenka further highlighted how tough the previous defeats have been for her. She also believes that she had gotten ample opportunities to win those matches, but things just didn’t go right for her in the end.

“I just want to focus, I want to make sure that I get it, I get the trophy. I’m so done with losing these big finals. It felt like even though players were playing incredible tennis in those finals, I felt like I had so many opportunities that I didn’t use,” she added.

This will be the sixth major final where Sabalenka and Rybakina will be locking horns against each other. Though the latter has won four of those matches, will the World No. 1 be able to turn things around this time? Let us know in the comments!