Third time’s the charm! After falling in the 2023 and 2025 Indian Wells finals, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka
 saved championship point to defeat incoming World No. 2 Elena Rybakina
 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) for her first BNP Paribas Open final and 23rd WTA Driven by Mercedes-Benz title. It’s her second title of 2026 following Brisbane in January.

Sabalenka avenges a 2023 Indian Wells final loss to the Kazakh and ends a streak of four consecutive WTA Tour final defeats when playing Rybakina, including the 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh championship and 2026 Australian Open.
Overcoming a set and a break down as well as fending off Rybakina’s third-set heroics, Sabalenka came back from some first-set frustrations to solve one of her biggest obstacles. Following her semifinal win over Linda Noskova
, Sabalenka said she was “so done” with losing high-level finals, alluding to her 1-4 final record vs. Rybakina. She now improves to 23-20 in tour-level finals, and Sunday’s win marked her 20th hard court title.

As a tennis fan, there isn't much more you could ask for in a third-set. Down 5-4 in the deciding set, the moment had become now or never for Rybakina. She hadn’t broken Sabalenka since the first set, and had failed to capitalize on her previous break points in the set to get it back on serve. In finals, both players entered with a .500 win percentage in deciding sets, though Sabalenka had lost her previous four, including their meeting in Melbourne.

Pivotally, Rybakina notched the break in the last possible game she could, putting the match back on serve at 5-5. What ensued was arguably the game of the match -- and even the tournament maybe -- that took more than 12 minutes. Sabalenka had five break opportunities, but Rybakina saved all of them to take a 6-5 advantage, though Sabalenka remained calm and collected to force the tiebreak.

In the tiebreak, Rybakina had forced championship point and 6-5, but a signature cross-court backhand winner kept the trophy hopes alive as the players switched sides. Sabalenka then won the final two points to clinch the win.
The victory represents a perfect ending to a memorable two weeks in Tennis Paradise for Sabalenka. From welcoming a new puppy, Ash, and getting engaged to longtime boyfriend Georgios Frangulis, Sabalenka’s Indian Wells trophy was the only thing that could make it even better.

The tour now heads to Miami, where Sabalenka enters as the reigning champion.