World No. 2 Iga Swiatek has excited from her campaign at the ongoing Indian Wells 2026 after ending in a disappointing loss to Elina Svitolina.
The Ukrainian won by five double faults and earned three breaks to win the opening set in 38 minutes. The Uzbekistani secured the win by sets of 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. The victory has now placed her into the semi-finals of Indian Wells which is scheduled on Thursday. Earlier in the day, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka had also advanced.
In the opening set, Swiatek struggled against Svitolina but found her rhythm in the second one forcing a decider. Meanwhile, Svitolina reclaimed the upper hand by break in a closely contested third set.
Talking about her performance post match, Svitolina returned back to the semifinals event for the first time since seven years.
“I’m extremely happy, it was a tough match. Iga always brings a bit extra out of me with that fighting spirit. I had to really push myself to close that match,” she said.
On the other hand, top seeded Sabalenka won her match over 19-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada after defeating her by sets of 7-6(0), 6-4. The Belarusian proved to be decisive in the first set and won winning the tiebreaker to her career-first love. In the second set, Mboko striked back to take the lead by 5-4 in an attempt to force the game into another tiebreak. However, the four-time Grand Slam champion closed the third set by 6-4 and secured herself a spot in the semi-final.
Sharing her insight on the Canadian, Sabalenka said, “She is definitely a future Grand Slam champion. It’s incredible to see how brave these young girls are these days.”
In the semi-finals, Sabalenka will next play Linda Noskova who won her match over Talia Gibson after defeating her by sets of 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. The Czech has reached her second WTA 1000 semi-finals, her first at the Indian Wells.
Meanwhile, in the men’s singles draw, fourth-seed Alexander Zverev defeated France’s Arthur Fils by sets of 6-2, 6-3. He will next face World No. Jannik Sinner after he defeated America’s Learner Tien by 6-1, 6-2.
