Article
Gauff Battles Through, Sabalenka Cruises
3 Min Read · March 6, 2026
The last seven champions at Indian Wells have been 23 years old or younger — Naomi Osaka (2018), Bianca Andreescu (2019), Paula Badosa (2021), Iga Swiatek (2022, 2024), Elena Rybakina (2023) and Mirra Andreeva (2025). Coco Gauff aims to make it eight.
The 2024 Indian Wells semifinalist, making her sixth appearance in Tennis Paradise, cleared the first hurdle on Friday in Stadium 1, delivering a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Kamilla Rakhimova.
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Gauff, who will face either Alexandra Eala or Dayana Yastremska in the third round, remains undefeated in her opening match at the event (6-0).
After battling through a topsy-turvy opening set, Gauff looked to be headed for a decider when she fell behind by a double break at 5-2 in the second. But a wild sequence of four service breaks in five games helped Gauff work her way into a second-set tiebreak.
“I lost like five games in a row, so I was like ‘Okay, if I can lose five games in a row then I can win five games in a row,’” Gauff said.
She only won three in a row, but it was enough.
Gauff recovered one of the breaks with a searing forehand that forced a Rakhimova error, then forced a second break moments later with a backhand return that her opponent couldn’t handle, leveling the set at 5-all.
Another trade of breaks sent the set to a tiebreak.
Gauff won the point of the match — a back-and-forth scramble that featured a pair of lobs — to move ahead 4-3 in the breaker. Cheers erupted moments later as a Rakhimova backhand clipped the tape to give Gauff her first match point of the afternoon at 6-4.
Another scramble, a flying smash winner, and the job was done in one hour and 59 minutes.
Get TicketsTwo-time finalist (2023 and 2025) Aryna Sabalenka started her 2026 campaign with a strong statement in Tennis Paradise. The World No. 1 scored a 6-4, 6-2 win over Japanese qualifier Himeno Sakatsume.
The 27-year-old was playing for the first time since the Australian Open and sporting a new glow: she got engaged to Brazilian entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis earlier this week.
“Super happy to get this win,” Sabalenka said. “I haven't played for a while after the Australian Open, and I’m happy with the performance today.”
Asked why her fiance chose Indian Wells to pop the question, she said: “It's Tennis Paradise.”
Ever ebullient, she showed off her new ring during her post-match interview.
In her 100th career match as the WTA’s top-ranked player — a position she has held for 72 consecutive weeks and 80 weeks overall — Sabalenka engineered three breaks of serve and never faced a break point on her serve.
She notched 24 winners and won 28 of 35 first-serve points to win comfortably and improve to 16-6 lifetime in the California desert.
Romania’s Sorana Cirstea prolonged her final stay in Tennis Paradise with a 6-2, 7-6(0) win over Diana Shnaider on Friday to set a third-round clash with No. 14 seed Linda Noskova of Czechia.
After announcing plans to retire, the former World No. 21 is making her last appearance at Indian Wells.
Emma Raducanu, seeded No. 25, also advanced. She defeated qualifier Anastasia Zakharova, 6-1, 6-3, and will face either Amanda Anisimova or Anna Blinkova next.
