Aryna Sabalenka has justified the tag of World No.1 at Indian Wells this year, as the Belarusian has reached the final in the Californian desert, without having dropped a set so far in the tournament. She got a routine 6-3, 6-4 win over Linda Nosková in the semifinal, reaching what would be her 43rd career final, where she will battle it out against Elena Rybakina.
However, before the summit clash, the top seed talked about her struggles in finals over the last year or so.
Aryna Sabalenka Talks About Her Struggles In Finals
Sabalenka dominated the WTA Tour last year, reaching nine Tour-level finals, including three at Grand Slams. However, the Belarusian had a losing record in the summit clashes last year, losing five of the nine finals, including two Major finals and at Indian Wells itself. This has been a narrative in her entire career, as she has a 22-20 record in title matches.
Unfortunately, for the World No. 1, the 2026 season has started with a similar trend, as she lost to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final, making it her 6th loss in her last 11 finals. Ahead of her final at Indian Wells on Sunday (March 15), Sabalenka spoke about her results in big matches, venting her frustration at losing the chance to win more trophies.
“I just want to focus. If I make it to the final, I want to make sure that I get it, I get the trophy. You know, I’m so done of losing these big finals… I feel like I had so many opportunities that I didn’t use. And 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,” Sabalenka said.
If one looks at some of Sabalenka’s final losses from last year, what went on between the ears was as much a factor as the on-court tennis in her losses.
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At the Indian Wells final against Mirra Andreeva and the French Open final against Coco Gauff, the Belarusian often became visibly agitated, leading to missed shots in crucial moments and giving her opponent back the advantage.
This year, at the Australian Open final, Sabalenka had a 3-1 lead over Rybakina, but could not close out the match, as her tennis just went away under the pressure. The Belarusian will get a chance to exact some revenge for Melbourne, as she faces the same opponent for the Indian Wells title on Sunday.
However, the Kazakh is playing some of the best tennis of her career at the moment, and even though Sabalenka leads the head-to-head, Rybakina has won the last two matches against her and previously beat her in the 2023 Indian Wells final.
