Indian Wells: Aryna Sabalenka beats Elena Rybakina in thrilling BNP Paribas Open final lasting more than two and a half hours

Aryna Sabalenka beat fierce rival Elena Rybakina in a thrilling final to secure her first Indian Wells title after more than two-and-a-half hours in the searing California heat.

The world No 1 fought back from a set down to win 3-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6), saving a match point in the final set tie-break before battling to her historic win.

The win follows Sabalenka's recent engagement and, and afterwards she flashed her engagement ring at the crowd and welcomed her new puppy onto the court to celebrate.

"What a week," she said, "getting a puppy, getting engaged and winning the title. I will definitely remember it the rest of my life."

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Rybakina, the world No 3, went into Sunday's match with a head-to-head advantage in finals against Sabalenka, having won four to her opponent's one.

But Sabalenka, who had become the first world No 1 to reach the Indian Wells final in consecutive years since it began in 1989, improved that record with a determined display.

Rybakina won the first set 6-3 with some brilliant tennis, frustrating her opponent, who has been dominant throughout the tournament.

Rybakina then broke in the first game of the second set, but the Belarusian turned things around to win the set 6-3.

The rallies began to get longer as both players battled towards the end, and Sabalenka appeared on the brink of victory at 5-3.

But Rybakina dug deep to win three games on the bounce before Sabalenka held serve to take the tournament finale to a tie-break.

Sabalenka saved championship point with a phenomenal backhand winner, clinching victory when a Rybakina return went long.

Following her defeat, Rybakina said: "Congratulations to Aryna and her team. Hopefully we will play very soon again. Not the result we wanted but it's been a good couple of weeks."

'One of the best matches I have seen for a few years'

Following the classic, Sky Sports Tennis pundit Tim Henman said: "We talked about how hot it is but their resilience mentally and physically...they never took a backward step and in those most crucial moments still the quality of tennis never dipped.

"There was no let-up. One of the best matches I've seen for a few years."

He added: "When push came to shove, even when it hadn't gone her way in the third set, Sabalenka was just so focused, so resilient, she kept going for her shots.

"She was brave and on that match point, the backhand she crushed was absolutely amazing. Sabalenka was the worthy winner."

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(c) Sky Sports 2026: Indian Wells: Aryna Sabalenka beats Elena Rybakina in thrilling BNP Paribas Open final lasting more than two and a half hours