Elena Rybakina is through to her first-ever final of a WTA 1000 event after producing a dominant display against top seed Iga Swiatek at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
The world No.10 dropped just four games as she stormed to an emphatic 6-2, 6-2, win over the three-time Grand Slam champion in under 80 minutes. Overall Rybakina dropped just 37 points against Swiatek which is the fewest a player has dropped against the world No.1 since Garbine Mugurza (35) at the 2021 Dubai Tennis Championships. In her latest match, the Kazakh won 82% of her first service points and converted all five of her break point opportunities.
“Today was a really great match for me because I played unbelievable — I would say one of the best matches I played this year. Hopefully I can keep the level for Sunday,” Rybakina said during her press conference.
It is the second time this season that the 23-year-old has beaten Swiatek after also prevailing in their clash at the Australian Open in January. She is only the third player to have defeated the Pole multiple times within the same year at WTA events. The first two were Maria Sakkari and Ons Jabeur who did so in 2021. She is also only the second player in history to have defeated the current world No.1 at both the Australian Open and Indian Wells within the same year.
Asked by a reporter about what it is in her game that gives Swiatek so much difficulty on the court, Rybakina says it is down to her aggressive shotmaking. Swiatek has won 16 out of 20 matches played so far in 2023.
“I think just my aggressive style of the game,” she said. “Big serves…. I think that just overall some players it’s more difficult to play against. With Iga, she’s tough — really tough opponent. But when I play [this well] and everything goes in…because today some moments I played [at] my highest level…there are moments where you feel, ‘I can beat anyone if I always play like this.’
“It’s the goal, but you never feel amazing and perfect every match. I think today it was just really good from me.”
Whilst there is no dispute about the level of Rybakina’s current form, it was later revealed that Swiatek is currently dealing with a rib injury which is threatening to rule her out of next week’s Miami Open where she is the defending champion. She is set to undergo a medical assessment in the coming days before a final decision is made.
“Honestly I feel like it’s still more me and kind of my mistakes,” Swiatek commented on her latest performance. “I’m also not feeling 100 percent physically. I have a little discomfort in my rib, and we’re going to consult with the medical team. For sure I’m gonna use these days off before Miami…. Actually, I have one more day.”
Rybakina will play Aryna Sabalenka in the title match at Indian Wells on Sunday in what will be a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final which the Belarussian won in three sets. Sabalenka booked her place in the final by defeating Sakkari 6-2, 6-3, in what was her 24th win over a top 10 player since 2018. The in-form Sabalenka has only suffered one loss in 18 matches played so far this season.
“I’m just super happy with another final and super happy with the win against Maria,” said Sabalenka, who is defending just 20 ranking points at the tournament. “She’s such a great fighter and it’s always tough matches against her.”
In their head-to-head, Rybakina has never beaten Sabalenka. Overall they have locked horns four times with every match going to three sets.
