Rybakina stops Svitolina and sets up a final encounter with Sabalenka in Indian Wells

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Elena Rybakina has once again shown why she is the fittest tennis player of 2026. The Kazakh player faced a tough challenge in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters 1000, where she took on Elina Svitolina, but she surpassed her with a 7-5 6-4 victory in 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach her second final of the season.

Svitolina is another player with outstanding results this year. Her title in Brisbane, the final at the Dubai WTA 1000, and the semifinals in Indian Wells and the Australian Open endorse her performance. However, Rybakina's ball pace proved too much for the Ukrainian player, who eventually succumbed to the new world number two in the WTA rankings. After securing the title at the first Grand Slam of the year, this is further evidence that this season the Kazakh player is set to break records in her career.

Rybakina struggles to claim the first set

The match started well for Svitolina. After holding her serve in the opening game, the Ukrainian player managed to break Rybakina's serve in her first return game with a lob that caught Rybakina off guard. However, her joy was short-lived, as the Kazakh player immediately broke back to earn her first game of the match and confirmed the break with her serve to tie the score at 2-2.

At 3-3, Rybakina once again had a break point to take the lead, but an ace from Svitolina helped her out of trouble. From then on, both players found consistency on serve, but at 5-5 Rybakina once again pushed for the break, increasing the pace and pushing the Ukrainian player back. After squandering two more chances to break Elina's serve, third time was the charm for the Kazakh player, fulfilling her mission and closing out the first set with a 7-5 score.

Rybakina stifles Svitolina's resistance in the second set

The bad news continued for Svitolina in the second set, as this time Rybakina managed to break her serve in the opening game to put the Ukrainian player on the back foot. With a 2-0 lead, Elena missed two more break opportunities, but just like at the end of the first set, she capitalized on the third to take a 3-0 lead that seemed insurmountable for her opponent.

Every shot from the Kazakh player was deliberate, corner to corner. Despite feeling overwhelmed, Svitolina never considered giving up and even had three break points at 4-1 down. Although she couldn't convert them, she succeeded on the fourth attempt at 5-2, providing a glimmer of hope amidst Rybakina's dominance. However, it wasn't enough as Elena closed it out on her next service game by 6-4.

This victory sets up another final for Elena, once again against Aryna Sabalenka, as it happened at the Australian Open a few weeks ago. The world number one against the world number two, the two best players on the circuit at the moment. There couldn't be a better outcome. If the Kazakh player wins, she will continue to narrow the points gap with the Belarusian towards realizing her dream of claiming the top spot in the WTA rankings for the first time in her career, something she is closer to achieving than ever before.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rybakina frena a Svitolina y se cita con Sabalenka en la final de Indian Wells