The first half of the 2026 Sunshine Double is complete as Indian Wells concluded on Sunday with a stunning finale. It’s always a tough follow from the UK with much of the action happening overnight and some of the tennis can be rather tedious to watch on the slow, gritty courts. I think it was a decent tournament and dare I say, i’m coming round to Indian Wells. It’s definitely on the bucket list to attend – hopefully one year! Read on for my favourite moments from Indian Wells.
Champion 🏆
Aryna Sabalenka saved a Championship point to beat Elena Rybakina, 3-6 6-3 7-6(6), to win her first Indian Wells title. There’s a lot to unpack from this final…
Set 1: Peak Rybakina. Elena was absolutely drilling returns at Sabalenka’s feet. Sabalenka appeared flat and tense – you could see it in her face. It was noticeable because Sabalenka had been so calm and free-flowing throughout the entire tournament.
Set 2: Meh. Neither was at their best and both were down on their first serve percentages. Rybakina led by an early break which was quickly erased. Rybakina’s level dropped significantly in the middle of the set. Sabalenka wasn’t peak or anything but she was clutch on serve, saving break points in three of her service games.
Set 3: Phenomenal. I’m happy to forget about the second set and say this was probably the match of the year so far on the third set alone. Quality tennis, to and fro, and so much tension and drama. The two points that I’ll remember, which characterised the set as a whole, came in the final set tiebreak. At 5-5, Rybakina set up a Championship point with a perfect return point that was finished with a crisp backhand winner. Sabalenka then saved the Championship point with a bold and ballsy angled backhand winner that was gasp-worthy. Two points later, Sabalenka won the whole caboodle.
This was a huge win for Sabalenka considering she had lost six of her last ten finals and most recently to Rybakina when she had let a third set lead slip in Melbourne. It looked to be heading the same way for Sabalenka which made it all the more impressive that she rallied in the final set tiebreaker. After all the heartbreaking final losses and disappointments, Sabalenka’s resilience to keep bouncing back is pretty extraordinary.
Sabalenka has been sensational so far this year. Her level has been a noticeable step up from 2025 and I think that is largely down to the serve. The variety too has been working well and was particularly on song in her win over Osaka. Sabalenka has lost just three sets in 2026 (!) and all three to Rybakina. For Rybakina, it was a tough loss but I don’t think she can have too many hang-ups about the Championship point. This felt more like a pivotal match for Sabalenka to quash some final demons. Sabalenka and Rybakina have cemented themselves as the clear top two. They have competed for the last three big titles and their matches rarely fail to deliver. Bring on the next one…
Best Matches 🎾
The final was once again the match of the tournament. I thought the quality of matches was better at Indian Wells compared to the Australian Open. Other highlights included…
Sabalenka d. Mboko, 7-6(0) 6-4 (QF): Add this to the list of rivalries that I am hyped for. Mboko was right there with Sabalenka heading into the first set tiebreak and both were playing very well. A couple of errors from Mboko at the start of the first set tiebreak was ultimately the difference because Sabalenka is absolutely ruthless in tiebreaks.
Noskova d. Cirstea, 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 (R3): Some of the best ballstriking i’ve seen all year in the second and third sets. Both players were hitting the absolute siht out of the ball. Cirstea didn’t do a lot wrong and Noskova was sensational in the second half of the match.
Eala d. Yastremska, 7-5 4-6 7-5 (R2): A classic WTA ending as the pair traded breaks like London buses after a serve-dominated start to the decider. Eala won the last three games, cheered on by a passionate crowd which is becoming the norm. Yastremska never strayed from her traditional gameplan of attack and was fearless on saving the first three match points. Yastremska will rue a string of double faults in the final game which was ultimately her undoing as Eala toughed out a noteworthy win.
Pegula d. Vekic 4-6 6-2 6-3 (R2): A fun match played in good spirits. Both hit some crackers that bamboozled each other. Vekic was lights out at the end of the first set. As has been the story in 2026, Vekic could only sustain that level for one set. Pegula was her characteristic steady self and served very well to come through in three sets.
New Face 👩
The surprise package of Indian Wells was Talia Gibson who came through qualifying and reached the quarter-finals of the main draw. I remember watching Gibson for the first time earlier this year when she held match points against Diana Shnaider at the Australian Open before losing in three sets. At Indian Wells, Gibson held her nerve in a second round win over Ekaterina Alexandrova (6-3 7-5) for one of the upsets of the tournament. And Gibson didn’t stop there as she notched up increasingly impressive victories over Clara Tauson (7-6(2) 4-6 6-4) and Jasmine Paolini (7-5 2-6 6-1). Even a first round win over Ann Li (6-3 7-5) was a first top 50 win and career best win at the time.
There’s a lot to like about Gibson’s game – decent serve, powerful and secure groundstrokes and a sound mentality. I did not expect Gibson to serve out the match against Tauson to love! While Gibson was on a roll this week, I think her game is repeatable and this could be the start of an upward trajectory in the rankings.
Dramatic Moment 👀
It was another tough loss for Mirra Andreeva (😭) who didn’t react well to boos from the crowd after she left the court following a third round loss to Katerina Siniakova. The woman’s reaction in the crowd to Andreeva’s outburst was iconic.
Funniest moment 😂
Jen Brady is hysterical. I’ve watched this several times and I am still laughing. I look forward to the Players Box podcast every week. There have been some interesting stories such as Pegula getting into the tournament at Austin at the expense of Keys for the second year in a row due to the top 10 rules.
Handshakes & Hugs Sportswomanship moment 🤗
I had such high hopes for Swiatek-Muchova which was sadly a dud. Just a bad day at the office for Mucky! Still, I enjoyed their exchange at the net. Iga said in her post-match interview that Karolina was practically the only women’s tennis player she will watch 😂.
Favourite Interview 📺
Zeynep Sönmez is a breath of fresh air to listen to. I loved that she acknowledged the need to improve her serve and explained how difficult it is to make improvements during the season.
Favourite snap 📸
Loved the first picture!
Five thoughts 🤔
Victoria Mboko is the real deal. Even with recency bias and all that jazz, I can’t remember a more impressive and seamless rise up the rankings. I remember watching her second round match against Birrell where she was on the ropes in the second set and I felt no jeopardy whatsoever. Mboko is so measured and it feels like she is playing well within herself. It took an excellent performance from Sabalenka to stop Mboko in the quarter-finals.
Elina Svitolina is having a great season and has cemented her place in the top ten again with another semi-final showing at a big tournament. Taking a break at the end of 2025 is looking like a genius move. Svitolina’s three losses this year have been against Sabalenka, Pegula and Rybakina – not too shabby.
Donna Vekic played great tennis for a set against Pegula in the second round – Vekic is 0-5 in third sets in 2026 and she won the opener in all those matches. I have this feeling it will click at some point and Donna is going to get a big win soon.
Hailey Baptiste is a very good tennis player. The American player has all the shots and had Rybakina on the ropes for a while in their second round match. A little like Vekic, it’s just maintaining that level for the whole match.
Emma Navarro is having a tough year. I found her second round match with Kartal a bizarre one. At the start of the second set, Navarro was very aggressive which felt forced and she didn’t look to have that natural, flee-flowing style when she was winning all those matches. Then trying to serve out the match in the third set was not pretty with some huge errors. Navarro lost in straight sets to Lulu Sun in the Austin 125 last week and has now pulled of Miami. Hope Emma is OK and can find a way out of this rut.
Moo's Tennis Blog 