Sinner and Sabalenka triumph at Indian Wells

Jannik Sinner secured his first title at the BNP Paribas Open with a straight-sets victory over Daniil Medvedev in the men’s final. 

The world number two won 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–4) after nearly two hours on Stadium 1, completing the tournament without dropping a set.

Both players held serve throughout the match, forcing each set to a tiebreak. Sinner fired 10 aces and won 91 percent of his first-serve points, maintaining control of his service games against Medvedev’s deep returning position.

The opening set remained tight as neither player found a break opportunity. Sinner edged the tiebreak 8–6 after a series of long rallies from the baseline.

Medvedev looked set to force a deciding set when he raced into a 4–0 lead in the second-set tiebreak during his nine-match winning run. 

Sinner responded by winning seven consecutive points, closing out the match and sealing the title.

The victory completed Sinner’s collection of all six ATP Masters 1000 titles played on hard courts. He joins Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer as the only players to achieve the milestone. 

The Italian now turns his attention to the Miami Open as the hard-court swing continues.

In the women’s final, Aryna Sabalenka secured her first Indian Wells title with a three-set victory over Elena Rybakina. 

The world number one recovered from a set down to win 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(8–6) after more than two and a half hours on court.

Rybakina took the opening set, but Sabalenka responded in the second with improved returning to level the match. 

The deciding set witnessed a brief, fierce battle before heading to a final-set tiebreak.

Sabalenka saved a championship point before closing out the match, ending a run of four consecutive final defeats to Rybakina that included the Australian Open earlier this season. She finished with 10 aces, while Rybakina struck 12 in the match. 

The win gave Sabalenka her 23rd WTA title and her 10th at the 1000 level, adding to her earlier triumph in Brisbane this year.