Tennis
2026-03-15 - Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : WTA 1000 Indian Wells Final
Sunday 15th March 2026 - Scheduled 11am
6pm (British Time)
Preview
A repeat of the Australian Open Final will be played in the Indian Wells Final and both Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have put together strong runs here.
Out of the two players, Aryna Sabalenka has been producing the higher level of tennis, but she has also struggled to get the better of this opponent.
In the last nine hard court matches between the pair, it is Elena Rybakina who has won seven times including in Melbourne in January. They met three times on the hard courts in 2025 and Rybakina won two of those, while the sole meeting in Indian Wells was also won in the Final by the World Number 3 in 2023.
All of that will give her a lot of confidence, but Aryna Sabalenka will feel she was very unfortunate to lose the Australian Open Final and the performances so far in the Indian Wells conditions will give her confidence in turning that form around. She has found it very difficult to read the Rybakina serve, but it was the World Number 1 who had more Break Points in the defeat in Melbourne and that is another reason Sabalenka can believe she has the game to get the better of this rival.
Aryna Sabalenka has been the much stronger server so far this week and she can certainly contain much of the threat from the World Number 3, although there is always that mental pressure to deal with.
That comes from the fact she has lost so many recent matches against Elena Rybakina, but the latter has not been nearly as impressive as the top Seed. That is not to say that Elena Rybakina has played poorly, but the wins have been in more competitive matches, even if that can sometimes be a help rather than a hindrance.
Both players should produce some good tennis in this Final, but the narrow edge is rightly with Aryna Sabalenka and she may just pick up a big title that gives her momentum to carry into the clay court season after a stop in Miami later this month.
Prediction
Lay the games with the World Number 1 and top Seed as she bids for a bit of revenge after the Australian Open Final loss to this same opponent.
The Pick :
Aryna Sabalenka 2-1 Elena Rybakina
