One of the semifinals at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open will see third-seeded and former champion Elena Rybakina take on ninth-seeded Elina Svitolina. Winning the Australian Open already makes this one of the best years on tour for Rybakina, who has won 16 of the 19 matches she has played this season.
Svitolina, too, is having a tremendous 2026 so far, winning 19 of her 22 matches, including the title in Auckland, a runner-up finish in Dubai, and a semifinal finish at the Australian Open.
Elena Rybakina vs Elina Svitolina Match Details
Date: March 13, 2026
Tournament: BNP Paribas Open 2026
Round: Semifinal
Venue: Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, USA
Surface: Outdoor hard
Category: WTA 1000
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, Sky Sports, TSN, TVA
Rybakina vs Svitolina Head-to-Head
After six meetings, the head-to-head is tied at 3-3 between Rybakina and Svitolina, with the Ukrainian winning the last match 6-3, 6-4 at the Madrid Open last year.
After getting a bye in the first round, Rybakina opened her campaign in Indian Wells with a hard-fought 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-2 win over Hailey Baptiste in the second round. The third seed had a routine 6-4, 6-4 win over the 28th-seeded Marta Kostyuk in the third round, followed by a win via retirement against Sonay Kartal in the fourth round.
In the quarterfinals, she put together another impressive performance, winning 6-1, 7-6(4) over the fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula.
Meanwhile, Svitolina also received a first-round bye, after which she began her campaign with a 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 win over Laura Siegemund in the second round. She had a straightforward 6-4, 6-2 win over Ashlyn Krueger in the third round, followed by a win via retirement against Kateřina Siniaková in the fourth round.
In the quarterfinals, she had her biggest victory, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 against the second seed and two-time champion Iga Świątek.
Rybakina vs Svitolina Prediction
In her match against Pegula, Rybakina won 65% of her service points and 37% of the return points. The Kazakh saved 4 of the 5 break points on her serve while converting 3 of the 4 break-point opportunities, playing some of her best tennis under pressure.
Svitolina, in her match against Świątek, won 62% of her service points and 45% of the return points. She was able to attack the Pole’s second serve, winning 56% of the points, including five service breaks, enabling her to dominate the match.
Svitolina is playing some inspired tennis this season, and she has a competitive head-to-head against Rybakina, including a win over the Kazakh in the pair’s only hard-court meeting at the 2021 Olympics. However, Rybakina has the power advantage over her opponent and is a former champion at Indian Wells, which is why PFSN’s Tennis Simulator has given the Kazakh a 68% win probability, making her the favorite to win the match.
Pick: Rybakina to win in three sets
