Canadian Victoria Mboko, the No 10 seed, defeated American Amanda Anisimova, the No 6 seed, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday night.
The 19-year-old Canadian required only 73 minutes to dismantle the world No 6 on her tournament debut in the California desert. Mboko dictated the baseline exchanges with a clinical display of power hitting, breaking the American four times to secure her third career WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
The teenager improved her 2026 season record to an impressive 16-4.
Mboko moves into the last eight to face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed and world No 1. This quarterfinal serves as a highly anticipated rematch after their meeting at the Australian Open, which Sabalenka dominated.
Unplayable
The key statistical factor in the match was Mboko’s remarkable efficiency on the return, winning 51% of points against both the first and second deliveries of Anisimova. While the American struggled to find rhythm, Mboko proved impenetrable on her own serve, notably saving the only break point she faced while leading 6-4, 3-1 to extinguish any hope of a comeback.
The match remained competitive throughout a tight opening set until Mboko secured the decisive break in the seventh game. Although Anisimova attempted to increase her aggression, the Canadian responded by winning four consecutive break points in the 7th, 11th, 15th, and 17th games of the match.
After navigating earlier rounds against Anna Kalinskaya and Kimberly Birrell, Mboko dominated the second set 6-1 to finalize the upset.
Indian Wells 2026, women’s singles fourth round
Aryna Sabalenka (1) – Naomi Osaka (16) : 6-2, 6-4
Victoria Mboko (10) – Amanda Anisimova (6) : 6-4, 6-1
Alexandra Eala (31) – Linda Noskova (14) : night session
Talia Gibson (Q) – Jasmine Paolini (7) : 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
Jessica Pegula (5) – Belinda Bencic (12) : to be played
Sonay Kartal – Elena Rybakina (3) : to be played
Katerina Siniakova – Elina Svitolina (9) : to be played
Karolina Muchova (13) – Iga Swiatek (2) : to be played