Europe 1 with AFP 00:20, March 20, 2023

In a remake of the final of the last Australian Open, tennis player Elena Rybakina finally got the better of Aryna Sabalenka and won the WTA tournament in Indian Wells. A victory that will allow him to climb to 7th place in the world ranking on Monday.

More consistent, Elena Rybakina, 10th in the world, won for the first time the WTA 1000 of Indian Wells, beating 7-6 (13/11), 6-4 Aryna Sabalenka (2nd), Sunday in California. The Kazakhstani, champion at Wimbledon last year, won at the age of 23 the fourth title of her career, after those also won in Bucharest in 2019 and Hobart in 2020.

✅ First Indian Wells title First WTA 1000 title
✅
✅ First champion from Kazakhstan#TennisParadisepic.twitter.com/520N5CiK1Z

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 19, 2023

She succeeds the list of winners to the world number 1 Iga Swiatek whom she swept in the semifinals, as two months earlier in the eighth-finals at the Australian Open. A few days later in Melbourne, she fell in the final to Sabalenka in three sets, for the fourth time in as many confrontations. "This is the first time that it goes as I wish, I hope we will play many more finals," said Rybakina, immediately cut off by her rival, saying with a smile: "and I will make sure it is the last time," causing general hilarity.

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Revenge

For their reunion in the Californian desert, the Kazakhstani was finally able to take revenge. And it was the win of the first set, extremely close, that decided the fate of the game, because then the frustration only grew in his opponent, weighed down by a crippling number of direct faults. During 1h15 that lasted this set, the excitement was evident on both sides, but stronger in the Belarusian.

Wasting two set balls, she committed no less than ten double faults, including three in the deciding game, also watered with many direct faults in the exchanges. Enough to hit his racket on the ground. Rybakina, more solid on his commitment (7 aces in total), ended up winning, but it still took him six chances to take the decisive game. In the aftermath, the Kazakhstani took advantage of the frustration of her opponent, to steal the serve from the beginning of the second set, again taking advantage of her direct faults.

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Outbreak confirmed since Wimbledon

Sabalenka had two break balls, without success at the end, even conceding on the contrary a new break to be trailed 5-2. Rybakina was nevertheless immediately caught up by the stakes on her serve, lost on a shutout, offering a reprieve to her rival. But the Kazakhstani still managed to remain solid on her next commitment to inflict on the Belarusian her second defeat in 19 matches, under the eyes of the legendary Rod Laver, billionaire Bill Gates or singer Pink.

First from his country to win the event and more generally a tournament of this category just below the Grand Slams, Rybakina confirms his emergence at the highest level since Wimbledon. His career at Indian Wells saw him successively dismiss the world N.1 and N.2. She will be rewarded with a jump to 7th place in the WTA rankings published on Monday.