Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) and Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) will play at the final of the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open with a prize pool of 8.8 million USD.
The match between the two will be a repetition of the Australian Open final from the end of January, in which Aryna Sabalenka triumphed in a 3-set thriller.
In the semifinals, both Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina were more than convincing.
The 2nd-seeded Aryna Sabalenka defeated the 7th-seeded Maria Sakkari (Greece) by 2-0 (6:2, 6:3) for 1:25 hours. The Belarusian tennis player made 5 breaks in the match, played the whole from the leadership position in the result, and was constantly pressing the serve of Maria Sakkari, which did not allow the Greek to win not more than four consecutive points.
In the other semi-finals, the 10th-seeded and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina was even more convincing against the top-seeded and reigning champion Iga Swiatek. The Kazakhstani tennis player won by 2-0 (6:2, 6:2) against the leader in the world rankings. She started the first set with three consecutive games, and in the second led by 5:0. In addition, Elena Rybakina realized 5 of 5 breakpoints and made seven aces in the match against just one for Iga Swiatek.
For Elena Rybakina, this was the third victory in four games against Iga Swiatek, with the Kazakhstani tennis player winning each of the last three games between them.
In the direct clashes against Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, the Belarusian leads with 4-1 wins, with all five matches being resolved in the maximum three sets.
