Ayrna Sabalenka targets Indian Wells victory over Elena Rybakina - 'I'm so done with losing'

Women's tennis world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka takes on No. 3 Elena Rybakina, determined not to suffer a defeat at the hands of the 26-year-old Kazakhstani player. Rybakina defeated Sabalenka at the 2025 WTA finals at the end of last year's season, and then again in the current campaign's Australian Open. Rybakina predicted a tough match for them both to come.

Aryna Sabalenka said "I’m so done with losing these big finals" ahead of her Indian Wells showpiece clash with Elena Rybakina on Sunday.

Sabalenka defeated Linda Noskova in their semi-final, winning 6-3 6-4 to reach the tournament's showdown, while Rybakina overcame Elina Svitolina in her last-four match-up, triumphing 7-5 6-4 against her Ukrainian opponent.

Those wins set up a tie between Sabalenka, the world No. 1 in women’s tennis, and Kazakhstan’s Rybakina, ranked at No. 3 in the world standings.

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In 2025, Sabalenka was the losing finalist in the French Open, Australian Open and also the WTA finals, and also lost the final of the 2026 Australian Open, with the last two defeats coming at the hands of Sunday's other finalist, Rybakina.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the final, a laughing Sabalenka struggled initially to give more than a one-word answer to a question, before the 27-year-old explained that recent failures at the last stage had given her a sense that she needed to focus on being ruthless, and not letting any chances slip when they were presented to her.

She said: "The idea was to give a one word answer, but I just gave up. Now, I'm serious. I just want to focus. If I make it to the final, I want to make sure that I get the trophy.

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"I'm so done with losing these big finals and I felt like even though players are playing incredible tennis in those finals, I feel like I had so many opportunities I didn't use."

She concluded: "Right now my mentality, if I make it to the final, I'll go out there, and I'll do everything I can and everything I cannot to get that trophy."

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‘I’ll make sure that I’m more than ready’

Rybakina gave her own thoughts on Sunday’s match, as she looked ahead to coming up against her regular opponent in major finals.

She believed it would be an exacting match, and suggested that both players would initially look to their service games to get an early advantage.

"We know each other's games very well," Rybakina observed. "It's going to be a difficult match where we both are going to try to serve well, that's for sure, put pressure, and…we will see what's going to happen."

While Sabalenka has stumbled in recent Grand Slams and WTA finals, Rybakina’s own difficulties have come at Indian Wells, having lost a doubles final in 2021 in the tournament.

"It feels great," she continued. "I've lost a couple of finals here, so I'll make sure that I'm more than ready on Sunday.

"I'll bring my best tennis and this is the year. I'm going to fight as much as I can. Hopefully it's going to be a great match."

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