Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time runner-up at Indian Wells, will get another shot at winning the event after beating Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals on Saturday (AEDT).
The top-ranked Sabalenka, from Belarus, dispatched Noskova in 1 hour, 28 minutes on Stadium Court 1 at the BNP Paribas Open.
She will face third-ranked Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the final on Monday (AEDT).
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Aryna Sabalenka reacts against Linda Noskova. Getty
Rybakina handled ninth-ranked Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4 in the other semi-final.
Sabalenka’s only loss in 2026 came against Rybakina in the Australian Open final.
Sabalenka surely will be looking to avenge that one as well as her 0-2 record in Indian Wells finals.
Winner Elena Rybakina poses with runner-up Aryna Sabalenka. Getty
“I’ll make sure that I’m more than ready, and I’ll bring my best tennis, make sure that this is the year,” Sabalenka said.
“I just want to focus, I want to make sure that I get it, I get the trophy. I’m so done of losing these big finals. It felt like even though players were playing incredible tennis in those finals, I feel like I had so many opportunities that I didn’t use.
“Right now my mentality, I’ll go out there and do everything I can to get that trophy.”
Sabalenka improved to 12-1 in 2026 with her victory, which came after she reached the semi-finals for the sixth consecutive WTA Tour event.
Her last loss before that round came against Rybakina in the Cincinnati quarter-finals last August.
Sabalenka connected on 38 of 58 first serves against the 14th-seeded Noskova and notched 11 aces to reach the final for the third time in four years.
“I would say that, yeah, serve was the biggest thing in this match,” she said.
“I was trying to stay focused on my serve and try to put as much as pressure as I could on her serve. And, lucky me, I got this win.”
Sabalenka has won eight of 15 meetings against Rybakina, with two of those losses coming in their last two matchups.
“If you want to be on the top, you always have to search for something, for little details to add to your game so you can be really unpredictable,” Sabalenka said.
“To have all those tools in your game, that definitely gives you so much of advantage over other players.”
Rybakina won 78 per cent percent of her first serves against Svitolina, who double faulted eight times in their semi-final.
It marked her 12th straight victory over top 10 opponents, a streak that began last October in China.
“We know each other’s games very well,” Rybakina said.
“It’s going to be a difficult match where we both are going to try to serve well, that’s for sure, put pressure, and we will see what’s going to happen.”