Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka captured the BNP Paribas Open title after defeating Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in a grueling championship match. It was a significant moment for Sabalenka, and before shifting her attention to her Miami Open campaign, the world No. 1 revealed a few celebratory plans for her flight.
Aryna Sabalenka Reveals How She Plans To ‘Cheer Herself’ After Indian Wells Win
This year’s Indian Wells women’s final carried added significance, as it was the first since 2012 to feature two top-three players. The match lived up to expectations.
Sabalenka had struggled against Rybakina in recent tour-level encounters, and that trend appeared early. The Belarusian dropped the first set 3-6, and Rybakina opened the second with a break as Sabalenka’s frustration grew. However, she responded strongly, winning the second set 6-3 to take the match into the decider.
On serve, there was little to separate the two. Rybakina struck 12 aces compared with Sabalenka’s 10, and both won roughly 65% of points behind their first serve. The third set went to a tense tie-break, but Sabalenka prevailed 7-6 (7) to secure her second title of the season after the Brisbane International.
It was a massive triumph for Sabalenka, marking her first WTA 1000 title since winning the Madrid Open last year. She also revealed her celebratory plans after the match.
“Well, I guess a couple espresso martinis, probably, and Five Guys to go,” she said in her post-match press conference. “Basically, that’s why I’m never in good shape, because it’s Five Guys and espresso martinis in celebration (laughing). Yeah, I guess that’s it.
“Maybe a couple drinks just to cheer ourselves. And that’s it, because the schedule is really tight and we’re on to the next one, and I cannot relax too much, because I’m defending champion there, and also, it’s Miami,” she said in her post-match press conference.”
Sabalenka acknowledged that the tour moves quickly and she must refocus ahead of her Miami Open title defense, noting that celebrating too much would not be wise.
“I love being there, playing there, so I want to do well there, as well. So I will try to stay loose but focused. I guess it’s, again, going into the balancing everything, so I will try to balance it the best way possible,” she added.
With the victory, Sabalenka not only avenged her 2023 BNP Paribas Open final defeat to Rybakina but also snapped a run of four straight WTA Tour final losses to the Kazakh, including title matches at the WTA Finals in Riyadh last year and the Australian Open earlier this year.
