World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka keeps her campaign alive in the Indian Wells 2026 after winning her semi-finals match against Linda Noskova to reach the finals event. The Belarusian is on her peak winning 15 matches out of the 16 played this year. Her only defeat of the season was the Australian Open 2026 finals in which she lost against Uzbekistan’s Elena Rybakina.
Sabalenka will be playing for her maiden Indian Wells title after defeating 14th seed Linda Noskova in the semi-finals match by sets of 6-3, 6. She will meet Australia Open reigning champion and Uzbekistan’s Elina Svitolina in Sunday’s title decider match. The two will face each other for the second time in a 2026 major tournament.
During her on-court interview Sabalenka said, “Feels great, I’ve lost a couple of finals here, so I’ll make sure that I’m more than ready on Sunday. I’ll bring my best tennis, and this is the year.”
The Belarusian noted that she faced struggle in serving during the match and credited Noskova’s performance.
“Serve was the biggest thing in this match. (Noskova) is an incredible player, I felt that if I give her a small opportunity, she will take it,” she added.
In the semi-finals, the Belarusian got early control going into a 3-1 lead and Nosaka resulted in inconsistent serving leading to a double fault. Sabalenka got another break and took the lead in the first set by 5-1. Meanwhile, Noskova’s downfall was put to a halt after she broke in when Sabalenka drops her set. However, she regained her form soon enough and she served again to seal the first set by 6-3. Noskova won just half of the points that too from her own serve.
Sabalenka opened the second with a break which was enough to get the victory in the semi-finals over 21-year-old Noskova. She got a chance to break back later but could not convert it against Sabalenka’s serving and powerful performance.
The Indian Wells 2026 final match will be Sabalenka’s 14th WTA 1000 finals appearance of her career.
Earlier, Sabalenka had defeated 19-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada in the quarterfinals by sets of 7-6(0), 6-4. The Belarusian proved to be decisive in the first set and won the tiebreaker. The four-time Grand Slam champion closed the third set by 6-4 and secured herself a spot in the semi-finals.
