INDIAN WELLS, California — Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time runner-up at Indian Wells, will have another chance to win the event after beating Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals on Friday.
Top-ranked Sabalenka of Belarus dispatched Noskova in 1 hour and 28 minutes on Court 1 of the BNP Paribas Open Stadium.
She will face third-ranked Kazakh Elena Rybakina in Sunday’s final. Rybakina beat ninth-ranked Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Sabalenka’s only loss in 2026 was against Rybakina in the Australian Open final. Sabalenka will surely look to avenge that and her 0-2 record in the Indian Wells final.
“I’ll make sure I’m more than ready on Sunday and bring my best tennis to make sure this is the year,” Sabalenka said.
Sabalenka improved to 12-1 in 2026 with her victory on Friday, which came after she reached the semifinals for the sixth consecutive WTA Tour event. Her last loss before that round was against Rybakina in the Cincinnati quarterfinals in August.
Sabalenka hit 38 of 58 first serves against 14th-seeded Czech Noskova and hit 11 aces to reach the final for the third time in four years.
“I would say yes, the serve was the most important thing in this match,” Sabalenka said. “I was trying to focus on my serve and try to put as much pressure as I could on his serve. And luckily for me, I got this win.”
Sabalenka has won eight of 15 meetings against Rybakina, with two of those losses coming in their previous two meetings.
Rybakina won 78% of her first serves against Svitolina, who committed eight double faults in their semifinal.
