Wednesday features a pair of quarterfinals from both the men’s and women’s singles draws.
In a big quarterfinal matchup between two of 2026’s best players, Elena Rybakina takes on Jessica Pegula on Wednesday afternoon. Two weeks ago in the same round of Indian Wells, Rybakina defeated Pegula in straight sets. Can she do the same in Pegula’s home state of California?
Wednesday’s other WTA singles quarterfinal sees World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka play Hailey Baptiste, who has been extremely impressive this fortnight.
In the top half of the men’s singles draw, which plays their quarterfinals on Wednesday, one of these four men will become a first-time Masters 1000 finalist: Tommy Paul, Jiri Lehecka, Arthur Fils, or Martin Landaluce.
Here’s a rundown of Wednesday’s singles quarterfinals (in chronological order, all times local):
Elena Rybakina (3) vs. Jessica Pegula (5) – 1:00pm on Stadium Court
Rybakina’s aforementioned victory over Pegula from two weeks ago was her fourth consecutive win in their rivalry, all of which took place within the last six months. During that span, Elena has claimed eight of their nine sets. Overall she leads their head-to-head 5-3, with all their matches taking place on this surface. These players own very similar records on the year, and and they are two of the best records in the sport: Rybakina is 20-4, while Pegula is 19-3. Elena is a two-time Miami Open runner-up, and Jess has now advanced to the quarterfinals or better for five years in a row, which includes an appearance in last year’s final.
Martin Landaluce (Q) vs. Jiri Lehecka (21) – Not Before 3:00pm on Stadium Court
Lehecka eliminated Taylor Fritz in three sets on Tuesday, to achieve the third Masters 1000 quarterfinal of his career, and his first in nearly two years. Landaluce is a 20-year-old Spanish qualifier currently ranked only 151st in the world, yet he has now upset three seeded players in this main draw (Darderi, Khachanov, Korda), even saving a match point on Tuesday against Korda to come back and win in three. He is a product of the Rafael Nadal Academy, yet unlike many Spaniards, most of his success thus far has come on faster surfaces. This will be a first-time meeting.
Aryba Sabalenka (1) vs. Haley Baptiste – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium Court
Sabalenka’s dominance continued in the last round, with another straight-set victory over Qinwen Zheng. The World No.1 is 20-1 this season, and has now advanced to the quarterfinals or better at her last 15 tournaments. By contrast, this is the first time in the career of 24-year-old Baptiste that she has advanced to the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event. Like Landaluce, Baptiste has defeated three seeded players in succession (Samsonova, Svitolina, Ostapenko), with all of those victories coming in straight sets. This is another first-time meeting on the day.
Tommy Paul (22) vs. Arthur Fils (28) – Not Before 8:30pm on Stadium Court
This should be an exciting contest to close out the night session, featuring two of the sports fastest players, who also provide some flashy shot-making. Paul is 15-6 during 2026, but this is his best result at his home state’s biggest tournament. Fils is now 12-4 since returning from injury last month, and while this is his fifth Masters 1000 quarterfinal out of his last eight appearances, he is 0-4 in this round. Their only prior encounter occurred three years ago in Shanghai, where Paul won a nearly three-hour three-setter.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
