INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time runner-up at Indian Wells, will get one other shot at successful the occasion after beating Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 within the semifinals Friday.
The top-ranked Sabalenka, from Belarus, dispatched Noskova in 1 hour, 28 minutes on Stadium Court 1 on the BNP Paribas Open.
She will face third-ranked Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan within the remaining Sunday. Rybakina dealt with ninth-ranked Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4 within the different semifinal.
Sabalenka’s solely loss in 2026 was towards Rybakina within the Australian Open remaining. Sabalenka absolutely can be seeking to avenge that one in addition to her 0-2 report in Indian Wells finals.
“I’ll make sure that I’m more than ready on Sunday, and I’ll bring my best tennis, make sure that this is the year,” Sabalenka mentioned.
Sabalenka improved to 12-1 in 2026 together with her victory Friday, which got here after she reached the semifinals for the sixth consecutive WTA Tour occasion. Her final loss earlier than that spherical got here towards Rybakina within the Cincinnati quarterfinals in August.
Sabalenka linked on 38 of 58 first serves towards the 14th-seeded Noskova of Czechia and notched 11 aces to achieve the ultimate for the third time in 4 years.
“I would say that, yeah, serve was the biggest thing in this match,” Sabalenka mentioned. “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 received eight of 15 conferences towards Rybakina, with two of these losses coming of their earlier two matchups.
Rybakina received 78% of her first serves towards Svitolina, who double-faulted eight occasions of their semifinal.
