It's championship Sunday in Tennis Paradise. One ticket. Two blockbuster finals. Who will be the last man and woman standing in the California desert?

Sabalenka Seeks To End Final Woes vs Rybakina In Women’s Final

They met in the 2023 women’s singles final, with Elena Rybakina defeating Aryna Sabalenka in a gut-wrenching battle.

“You're one step from the trophy and losing it. This one is really tough,” Sabalenka said.

Two months ago, at the Australian Open, Rybakina defeated Sabalenka for her second major title.

“It's tennis,” Sabalenka said after the loss. “You know, today you're a loser; tomorrow you're a winner. Hopefully I'll be more of a winner this season than a loser. Hoping right now and praying.”

The World No. 1 is hoping her dreams come true on Sunday as she tries to snap a four-match losing streak in finals against Rybakina, but the challenge looms large. Rybakina is playing the best tennis of her career, and she has notched 12 consecutive victories over Top 10 players dating back to last season.

“I think with the years, with experience, I'm getting this consistency, so hopefully I can just keep on going,” Rybakina said yesterday after handling Elina Svitolina in straight sets to reach her second final in the California desert.

“Also, you get to know the players much more. When you play the same players multiple times, you know what to expect.”

Sabalenka, who is 0-2 in finals in Tennis Paradise, has won eight of 15 matches against Rybakina, including a victory in the 2023 Australian Open final. She is ready to set the tone for the rest of her season with a crowning achievement on Sunday.

“I'm so done with losing these big finals,” she said. “It felt like even though players were playing incredible tennis in those finals, I had so many opportunities that I didn't use. And right now my mentality — if I make it to the final — is that I'll go out there and do everything I can to get that trophy.”

Sinner, Medvedev Bid For Desert Breakthrough

A stunning upset by Daniil Medvedev served as a reminder to the rest of the tennis world on Saturday in Tennis Paradise: the former World No. 1 can still hang with the very best.

Carlos Alcaraz marveled at Medvedev’s performance after his semifinal loss to the 29-year-old on Saturday.

“I gotta say, I have never seen, to be honest, Daniil playing like this. He deserves the win completely today. He deserves completely to get through and play a final here. All I can say is just congratulations to him.”

Medvedev had not displayed that type of aggression and intensity since he was reaching major finals with alarming regularity several years ago — and maybe he never has. He was relentless against Alcaraz on Saturday, probing the court with confidence and serving with sizzle.

He’ll need all of that and more against Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s final.

The Italian, a cool customer in the balmy heat in Saturday’s first semifinal, defused No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, 6-2, 6-4, to reach his first Indian Wells final.

Both Sinner and Medvedev are bidding for their first title in the California desert, and both are also chasing a rare milestone — completing the full set of six Masters 1000 titles on hard courts (Indian Wells, Miami, Canada, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris).

Something has to give.

“He's back to a very, very high level,” Sinner said of Medvedev. “Very big serve, and he's returning very well.”

Sinner has won eight of his last nine matches against Medvedev, but it took time for the Italian to solve the Russian’s unorthodox game. The head-to-head now stands at 8-7 in favor of Sinner.

Now that Medvedev has ramped up his aggression, the matchup could take on an entirely different complexion.