Elena Rybakina stuns No. 1 Iga Świątek at Indian Wells, will play Aryna Sabalenka in final
Iga Świątek’s dominating run at the BNP Paribas Open came to an abrupt end Friday in a stunning 6-2, 6-2 loss to Elena Rybakina on Stadium Court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The 21-year-old, who is ranked No. 1 in the world, had captured the title at Indian Wells last March and entered the semifinal on a 10-match win streak on these courts.
What’s more, she had not lost a set in four previous matches at Indian Wells this year. She had beaten a pair of fellow Grand Slam champions in Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu but was unable to top a third in Rybakina, who won Wimbledon last summer.
In a rematch of the Australian Open final from January, Rybakina will play Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on Sunday in the Indian Wells final.
Rybakina, 23, is the first player from Kazakhstan to reach the finals at the BNP Paribas Open.
Świątek told reporters after the match that she had some discomfort in her ribs that affected her during the match. She said that it bothered her following her quarterfinal match versus Sorana Cîrstea and that she'll have it evaluated to determine if she can play at the Miami Open, which starts next week.
Asked how much it affected her play, Świątek couldn't say for sure.
"It's hard to say," she said. "Honestly, I haven't played with a lot of injuries. It's a new situation for me, for sure. Last time I played with an injury, like the only tournament I can remember is like Roland Garros 2019. So I was pretty young.
"For sure, now it's a totally different level. So I feel like going on that matches you have to be 100% fit."
That at least somewhat explains why Świątek wasn't quite herself on court on Friday. But at least part of it had to do with how well Rybakina played.
"With Iga, she's tough, really tough opponent, but when I play like this good and everything goes in, because today some moments I played, I would say, on my highest level," Rybakina said. "So yeah, there are moments where you can feel, 'Okay, I can beat anyone if I always play like this.'"
It wasn’t necessarily stunning that Świątek lost to Rybakina, a Kazakhstan player who is ranked 10th in the world. What was shocking is how dominant Rybakina was in the match versus the Polish tennis star.
Rybakina broke Świątek’s serve twice in the first set while holding her own, then broke Świątek’s serve three times in the second set.
"Elena played great tennis today, and I feel like against her I have to play better," Świątek said. "She was playing really well."
Rybakina's win was was reminiscent of how Rybakina beat Świątek at the Australian Open in January, also in straight sets. But that match was closer. Świątek lost that match, 6-4, 6-4, and it was more closely contested.
As she's shown now twice already this year, Rybakina has been able to figure out Świątek in a way few others have during Świątek’s lengthy run as the top-ranked player in the world. Świątek has held the top ranking since April 4, 2022.
But despite her run as the top-ranked player, and the wins in 10 of her last 11 matches at Indian Wells, it's Rybakina who will be playing in the BNP Paribas Open final on Sunday.
“I didn’t expect to play that well today,” Rybakina said. “Yesterday was a really tough match and I had nothing to lose. I just wanted to come enjoy and do it my way. I played one of the best matches, I think, this year.”
Andrew John covers the BNP Paribas Open for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: Elena Rybakina stuns World No. 1 Iga Świątek at Indian Wells
