Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina added another milestone by reaching her second Indian Wells final with a 7-5, 6-4 win over World No. 9 Elina Svitolina in 1 hour and 46 minutes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The win marked her 12th straight victory over Top 10 opponents, a streak that began last October in Ningbo, where she also lifted the trophy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Contesting her seventh career meeting with Svitolina, the world No. 3 was broken in her opening service game but countered with a pair of breaks to claim an opening set in which she won 19 of 21 first-serve points.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Rybakina raced out to a 4-0 double-break lead in the second set and handled a bit of turbulence before closing out the win. The always scrappy Svitolina saved match points in two consecutive games to close within a break, then held to force Rybakina to serve it out, Indian Wells reports.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The third match point was the charm for the 26-year-old, who improved to 16-3 lifetime at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and 17-3 overall in 2026. "I cannot be super happy with my performance today. I definitely need to get better before the final," said Rybakina.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She’ll now faces world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, whom she beat in both the Australian Open final earlier this year and the 2023 Indian Wells championship match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Rybakina and Sabalenka have met 16 times, with Sabalenka holding a slim 8-7 edge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She’ll now faces world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, whom she beat in both the Australian Open final earlier this year and the 2023 Indian Wells championship match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I'm so done losing these big finals," Sabalenka said. "It felt like even though players were playing incredible tennis in those finals, I had so many opportunities that I didn't use."<\/p>\r\n\r\n