The second seed, Aryna Sabalenka will take on the 10th seed, Elena Rybakina in the finals of the WTA Indian Wells Open on Saturday. It will be the duo’s second final this season after playing the Australian Open final in January.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: Match Details
- Tournament: WTA Indian Wells Open 2023
- Match: Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina
- Round: Final
- Date: 19th March 2023
- Venue: Indian Wells, California, USA
- Surface: Hard Court
- Prize Money: $8,800,000
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: Preview
On Saturday, the Indian Wells final will feature Second seed Aryna Sabalenka and tenth seed Elena Rybakina, in a highly anticipated rematch of this year’s Australian Open title match. Sabalenka, currently ranked World No. 2, maintained her impressive start to the year in the semifinals by defeating last year’s finalist Maria Sakkari, conceding just five games.
With this victory, Sabalenka’s record now stands at 17-1 for 2023, tying her with Caroline Garcia for the most WTA main draw wins this year (17-7). This week, the current Australian Open champion has lost only one set in four matches, with her third-round victory against Lesia Tsurenko being a walkover. After experiencing her sole defeat of the year in the quarterfinals of the Dubai tournament, where she lost to the eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova, Sabalenka has now advanced to her third final in four tournaments.
In the meantime, Elena Rybakina ranked tenth and defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals to secure her first-ever WTA 1000 final appearance. In five matches this week, the Australian Open runner-up has only conceded one set, which was against Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals.
Rybakina in her semifinal match against an injured Swiatek, Rybakina cruised to victory, conceding only four games. This win marked her second final appearance of the season and brought her overall record to 15-4. Rybakina will now face a familiar opponent in the final, with the possibility of claiming her first WTA 1000 title.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: Prediction
In terms of their game styles, Sabalenka and Rybakina have very similar strengths. They both have powerful serves, hit big shots from both sides of the court, move efficiently, and typically perform their best on hard courts. Although Sabalenka’s serve was previously considered a weakness, it is now one of her greatest assets as she aims to improve her flawless 3-0 record in WTA 1000 finals against a familiar opponent.
Despite Sabalenka’s impressive record, Rybakina should not be underestimated, especially after her recent win against World No. 1 Swiatek. In the semifinals, the Kazakhstani player hit 18 winners and managed to save all five break points against Swiatek. Similarly, Sabalenka had a commanding performance in the semifinals, hitting 21 winners and converting five out of ten break points against Sakkari.
However, Sabalenka has won all four previous matches against Rybakina, and each of their contests has gone the full distance. Fans and experts believe that this match will be nothing short of their previous encounter in the Australian Open finals.
Prediction: Elena Rybakina to win in three sets.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: Live and Broadcast Details
The match will be available for live viewing on the following channels and sites for viewers in these respective countries:
- USA – Tennis Channel/ TC Plus.
- Australia and New Zealand – beIN SPORTS & Spark
- United Kingdom – Amazon Prime Video
- China and Hong Kong – NowTV
- Canada – TSN, DAZN
- Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands – Tennis Channel
- Japan – DAZN
- Spain – DAZN, TVE, TV3
- Finland, Norway, Sweden – TV4
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: Match Timings
- Melbourne– TBD
- India– TBD
- London– TBD
- Paris– TBD
- New York– TBD
- Toronto– TBD
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