Sunday Mar 22, 2026
Sunday Mar 22, 2026
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Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka described Victoria Mboko as a “future Grand Slam champion” after holding off the Canadian teenager to maintain her bid for a first Indian Wells title, but two-time winner Iga Swiatek went out.
Mboko pushed world number one Sabalenka hard in the opening set, but the Belarusian dominated the tie-break before finally cracking the 19-year-old’s serve in the fifth game of the second set on the way to a 7-6 (7-0) 6-4 win.
Sabalenka, a two-time runner up at Indian Wells, praised her opponent’s bravery and said she has “no doubt” Mboko is destined for great things.
“A future star, a future Grand Slam champion, no doubt about that,” Sabalenka said of Mboko.
“It’s incredible to see these young girls these days, how brave they are. They go out there, they go after their shots, they’re aggressive, they’re fighting.
“It’s incredible to see and for sure we are going to play many more matches in the future.”
Four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka will face 14th seed Linda Noskova in the semi-finals of the prestigious WTA 1,000 event, after the Czech ended Australian qualifier Talia Gibson’s run with a 6-2 4-6 6-2 victory.
The 21-year-old Gibson, ranked 112 in the world and playing her first WTA 1,000 main draw, had become the first qualifier in 11 years to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament when she beat seventh seed Jasmine Paolini on Tuesday.
Swiatek, champion at Indian Wells in 2022 and 2024, was beaten in three sets by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who will face Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina for a place in the final.
World number two Swiatek, who will drop below Rybakina in the rankings next week, was beaten 6-2 4-6 6-4.
Svitolina capitalised on a series of double faults to secure three breaks of serve and take the opening set in 38 minutes.
Swiatek responded to force a decider, but ninth seed Svitolina secured the only break in a tight third set before closing out the match to reach the semi-finals for the first time in seven years.
Third seed Rybakina progressed with a 6-1 7-6 (7-4) win over American Jessica Pegula.
