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Sunday, March 15, 2026

Wk.10- Aryna's Engaging Oasis in the Desert

Whew!








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*WEEK 10 CHAMPIONS*
INDIAN WELLS (CAL), UNITED STATES (WTA 1000; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Elena Rybakina/KAZ 3-6/6-3/7-6(6)
WD: Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend (CZE/USA) def. Anna Danilina/Aleksandra Krunic (KAZ/SRB) 7-6(4)/6-4
MX: Belinda Bencic/Flavio Cobolli (SUI/ITA) def. Gaby Dabrowski/Lloyd Glasspool (CAN/GBR) 6-3/2-6 [10-7]
Antalya 3, Turkey (WTA 125; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Anhelina Kalinina/UKR def. Tamara Zidansek/SLO 6-0/6-3
D: Maria Kozyreva/Iryna Shymanovich (RUS/BLR) def. Maja Chwalinska/Jesika Maleckova (POL/CZE) 7-6(7)/6-4
Austin (Texas), United States (WTA 125; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Lanlana Tararudee/THA def. Bianca Andreescu/CAN 6-3/3-6/6-3
D: Chan Hao-ching/Miyu Kato (TPE/JPN) def. Isabelle Haverlag/Sabrina Santamaira (NED/USA) 6-3/6-2




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[IW 3rd Rd.-to-Final]





PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...yep, Sabalenka came *THIS CLOSE* to it happening all over again. But this time it didn't.

Sabalenka had twice reached the Indian Wells final, but had yet to join the short list of women who've raised trophies at both ends of the Sunshine Swing *and* a hard court major. She started off her latest experience in the desert by arriving with a big diamond engagement ring on her finger and an impending wedding announcement. She then went about making the tournament her own personal early honeymoon site, advancing to the final (her third in four years) without dropping a set vs. Himeno Sakatsume, Jaqueline Cristian, Naomi Osaka (RIP, leopard?), Victoria Mboko and Linda Noskova.

And there she was. Again. Elena Rybakina, the same woman who'd denied Sabalenka in the IW final three years ago, as well as the WTAF final last year (losing a 7-0 TB in the process) and the AO26 title match (in which Sabalenka led 3-1 in the 3rd in her only loss thus far in '26) less than two months ago. In fact, Rybakina came into the Sunday final having defeated Sabalenka five times when the Belarusian was ranked #1 (more than twice as many wins from any other player, as only Gauff and Pegula have done it more than once, with two wins each). After Rybakina grabbed the opening set with relative ease, Sabalenka found herself with her back press firmly against the wall by her top nemesis once again.

She responed as a world #1 should, taking the 2nd and grabbing an advantage in the 3rd. Just like in Melbourne, she led 3-1 in the decider. This time, after losing a 6-4 set in the AO, she traversed a rocky terrain to earn the chance to serve at 5-4 for one of the few big titles that has eluded her. And then it started to happen again.

The memories of all the losses in big finals from a season ago -- when Sabalenka came so close to an epic campaign, finishing #1 but losing in the AO, RG, WTAF and IW finals (she "saved" her year w/ titles in Miami, Madrid and the U.S. Open), often after having opportunities to prevail but being unable to close out the wins -- had to be battling to burst out of the top of her head. Yet she managed to keep them all at bay, even saving a MP (at 6-5) in the deciding TB before ultimately surging last in an early Match of the Year candidate by sweeping the final three points, closing with a big serve up the "T" on her own MP to improve to 27-3 in TB over the past two seasons and grab one of the missing pieces to her career puzzle.

Sabalenka is the ninth woman to win Indian Wells, Miami (where she'll next defend her title) and a hard court major, and just one of seven of that group to win *both* the AO and U.S. titles.

17-1 on the season, this was the first of Sabalenka's 2026 wins that *didn't* come in straight sets.
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RISERS: Elena Rybakina/KAZ and Linda Noskova/CZE
...for a moment, Rybakina almost had it all. A tremendous surge to end '25, the WTA Finals title, an Australian Open crown, a second career Indian Wells final run that assured her rise to a career-best #2 and a MP to give her two titles in the desert (and another win over #1 Sabalenka, after knocking her off in the WTAF and AO finals) and open the door to legimately putting pressure on the Belarusian for the top ranking over the course of the upcoming spring/summer.

But Sabalenka wasn't to be denied, and the rivalry between the two best women's players in the world adds another intriguing chapter.

Over the two weeks in the desert, Rybakina didn't *have* to be spectacular as she moved past Hailey Baptiste (in 3 sets), Marta Kostyuk and Sonay Kartal (ret.), but she raised the level of her game while taking down Jessie Pegula and Elina Svitolina in straights even while both Top 10ers played pretty well (and close) over three of the four sets contested in the QF/SF.

After taking command in the 1st set of the final vs. Sabalenka, Rybakina left the court between sets and seemed to lose her momentum and muddy her gameplan in the 2nd. But after Sabalenka *seemed* to take control in the 3rd, going up 3-1 and serving for the title at 5-4, the Kazakh pulled out her very best tennis once again and the two battled all the way to the finish.

Rybakina saved five BP to get a key hold for 6-5, then held a MP in the deciding TB before Sabalenka wrestled away the title from her grasp in the final three points, taking an 8-6 TB.

If Rybakina had won, she would have accounted for four of the last five #1 wins vs. Sabalenka, and what would have been her 10th career #1 victory would have tied her for sixth place on the all-time WTA list for such things.

Well, one would think (if we're lucky) she'll get a few more chances at that over what remains of this season.



Meanwhile, Noskova is the most underrated player in the Top 20, but she remains one truly big result from climbing into the Top 10.

The Czech continually posts good results -- adding an Indian Wells SF this week to previous slam QF (AO24) and 4r (WI '25) results, six tour single finals (one at a 1000 in Beijing) and eleven Top 10 wins -- but that one *big* result has remained out of reach, hence her being "stuck" between #12-14 for the past five and a half months.

Her six finals (all since the start of '23) have produced just one title, and while she *did* manage a #1 win over Iga Swiatek at AO24, Noskova has often come up *just short* of some other potentially course-altering upsets (eight of her eleven Top 10 wins have come vs. players ranked #7-10).

She took Swiatek to three sets in a Miami loss two years ago, then did it again in Doha last year. Additional, gave-it-a-go-but-couldn't-quite-get-it-done three-set defeats have come since the start of last year vs. Jessie Pegula ('25 Bad Homburg SF), Amanda Anisimova ('25 Wimbledon 4r, and in last year's Beijing final when the Czech was going for a third Top 10 in the tournament) and Mirra Andreeva (a 7-5 3rd set loss in January in Brisbane).

Indian Wells followed a similar pattern, as Noskova posted her third career 1000 QF+ result with a SF after wins over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Sorana Cirstea, Alex Eala (6-2/6-0) and Talia Gibson (someone had to do it eventually, right?), but couldn't get past a very in-form Aryna Sabalenka a round from what would have been her most important career match.

Noskova's big game (esp. on serve) will give her many more chances for "the big one," but if she's going to get over that proverbial hump she might have to work on closing up some of the identifiable holes (such as, as Lindsay Davenport pointed out during the match on Tennis Channel, her slow reaction and poor percentage in getting back wide returns of her second serve, which serves to blunt some of the in-match effectiveness of her good first serve results) that might be keeping her continued climb up the tour ladder at bay (for now).

As usual, Noskova will remain in her current ranking "box" come Monday, and will pull into Miami at #13.
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SURPRISES: Katerina Siniakova/CZE and Talia Gibson/AUS
...though Siniakova's best career moments have come in doubles, she's no stranger to singles success, claiming five tour titles in her career (in ten finals) while posting double-digit Top 10 wins and three 1000 QF results (her best slam run was a 4th Rd. at RG in 2019). But, still, when she flashes it still tends to make one spin around on their heels and raise an intrigued eyebrow.

The veteran Czech had one of her bigger solo runs in Indian Wells.



After coming back from a set down to defeat Sofia Kenin, Siniakova won out over Leylah Fernandez in 3:28 battle in the 2nd Round, recovering from being 3-1 down in the 3rd set, saving 4 BP to hold for 4-4 with the match hanging in the balance and then dominating a deciding tie-break. With her momentum at full blast, she upset defending champion Mirra Andreeva despite squandering a 1st set lead and then nearly letting the match slip away in the 3rd after losing break leads on three different occasions.

Unfortunately, Siniakova didn't have a good end in the desert, as her previous tears of joy turned into the "regular" kind when she was forced to retire with a hip injury against Elina Svitolina in their 4th Round match.



Teamed once again with Taylor Townsend, Siniakova had also reached the doubles semis, in which she was able to play a day later, finishing off a win over #1 seeds Errani/Paolini to reach the final.



Meanwhile, after a successful first week in the desert, Gibson's run from the qualifying rounds to the best big event result of her career continued well into week two.

The Aussie had saved a pair of MP in a Q-win over Elvina Kalieva, then knocked off Ann Li and Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach the 3rd Round. She was just getting started. Gibson ran her streak of Top 20 wins to two with an upset of Clara Tauson on Sunday to reach her first 1000 Round of 16, then added still more decoration to her unexpected mini-masterpiece with her maiden Top 10 win against Jasmine Paolini to become the first qualifier since 2015 (Lesia Tsurenko) to reach the Indian Wells QF, and the first Aussie since 2015 (Casey Dellacqua).

NOTE: In case you were wondering, Ash Barty's best I.W. result was a 4th Round in 2019. In a wild series of events, it came in what was her last of just two appearances in the event. Remember, the tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, then moved to October in 2021 (Barty had ended her season after the U.S. Open and gone back to Australia). In March 2022, new AO champ Barty withdrew from both Indian Wells and Miami, then soon after announced her retirement from the sport.

Barty spent 121 official weeks (more in real time, as the rankings were frozen for six months in '20) and won three majors after her '19 MD run, but never appeared in Indian Wells as the #1 ranked player. In fact, she was just the #16 and #12 seed in the two events she played.



Gibson lost in three sets to Linda Noskova in the QF, but will now make a huge jump from #112 all the way to about #67 on Monday.

At 17-6 in 2026, she's the new AUS #3, and will find herself only a few spots behind AUS #2, Dasha Kasatkina. AUS #1, Maya Joint, is off to an horrendous 2-8 start to her season, with six straight losses heading into Miami.
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VETERAN: Elina Svitolina/UKR
...arriving in the desert off a final run in her last action in Dubai, Svitolina extended her hot '26 start with her best Indian Wells result since 2019.

After a three-set win over the ever-ornery game of Laura Siegemund, Svitolina knocked off Ashlyn Krueger before seeing Katerina Siniakova retire from their Round of 16 match. Against Iga Swiatek, the Ukrainian both started and finished strong against the two-time I.W. champ, dominating a 6-2 1st, then rebounding to win in three to end the Pole's four-year run of SF+ results in the event and get her first win in the series since 2023. It's Svitolina's 47th career Top 10 win, and third vs. a Top 5 player this season.

Svitolina played well against Elena Rybakina in the semis, losing 7-5/6-4, but couldn't handle the Kazakh's power when push came to shove.

Still, her fourth SF of '26 is a tour-best, and she's tied with Jessie Pegula for third in the season's Points Race behind Rybakina and Sabalenka.
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COMEBACKS: Anhelina Kalinina/UKR and Francoise Abanda/CAN
...after missing six months last season, Kalinina has come on like gangbusters during a three-week run of 125 events in Antalya, becoming the first player in the history of the series to reach three finals in three weeks, and this weekend becoming one of the few to post back-to-back titles in consecutive weeks.

After a loss two weekends ago in the final to Moyuka Uchijima, Kalinina won the crown last week by defeating fellow Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova. This week, she ran off wins over Elena Pridankina, Ekaterine Gorgodze, Anna Charaeva and Katarzyna Kawa to reach a third straight final, where she handled Tamara Zidansek 6-0/6-3 to claim her fourth career 125 crown (she's 0-2 in tour-level finals, with losses in 2021 and '23).

Ranked #202 in the last rankings for February, Kalinina's three-week run will see her come in at #127 on Monday.



While Bianca Andreescu's comeback gets more attention, that of fellow Canadian Franckie Abanda is taking place quite a bit farther off the beaten path, well under the radar, and from much further outside collective tennis consciousness. (Catch the date on the above photo... Abanda was once a thing, but it's been quite a while.)

More than a decade ago, Abanda was part of the first wave of new Canadian tennis singles stars (just behind Bouchard & Raonic, and slightly ahead of the likes of Andreescu, Fernandez and FAA -- while Mboko was 6 years old when Abanda's name starting making headlines in majors), shining in Fed Cup play and looking like a name to keep an eye on at tour-level. A former junior #4, she reached the girls' SF at both Wimbledon (2012) and Roland Garros (2014), cracked the Top 200 (climbing to #111 at age 20) and posted women's MD wins at two majors (RG/WI) in 2017.

But her tennis journey has been nothing short of disastrous ever since due to shoulder and back injuries. Since her breakout back-to-back results in slams in '17, Abanda hasn't played a single MD match in a major (or even any in qualifying since '19). Between 2021-24 she played in a combined total of 28 singles matches, and when she appeared in a draw at a $15K in Antalya last season it was to play her first match in more than two years. She ultimately played 19 singles matches in '25 (going 10-9).

Flashforward nearly a year and Abanda, now age 29 and ranked #1007, suddenly played her way into the singles *and* doubles finals in the Gonesse (FRA) $15K this past week, winning six straight matches from qualifying to reach her first singles final since 2019 (and just her second since 2016, when she claimed her most recent singles crown).

Abanda won the doubles (w/ Lucie Nguyen Tan), picking up her first WD title on any level since 2015, but fell in the singles title match to Spain's Maria Garcia Cid, 7-5/6-1.

Even so, Abanda is off to a 17-4 start in '26 and (shhhh) not experiencing the sort of physical difficulties that have sidelined her once-promising career for much of the past decade.

Crossing fingers.
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FRESH FACES: Victoria Mboko/CAN and Sonay Kartal/GBR
...Alex Eala gets a lot attention for all the reasons we know, but the real show might be the one starring Mboko, whose sequel to her "Mbokomania!" campaign of '25 looks like it could be far, far better than what was an eye-opening original.

The 19-year old didn't complete an Osaka/Andreescu/Andreeva-type Indian Wells breakout run in what was her tournament debut, but the Canadian once again proved that she's a growing force that is only becoming more and more relevant (and potent) a presence at the very *top* echelon of the game with every passing tournament. At her current trajectory, it's difficult to *not* see her ending the season at no less than in the Top 4 in the world.

Mboko's introduction to Tennis Paradise included early wins over Kimberly Birrell and Anna Kalinskaya, then a dominant 6-4/6-1 putting away of Amanda Anisimova, the teenager's fourth Top 10 win this season (fifth since last summer). Anisimova had allowed a combined three games to opponents in her previous four sets.



Mboko fell in straights sets for the second time in two meetings with Aryna Sabalenka, but once again took the world #1 to a 1st set tie-break (for a second straight set, after doing so in the 2nd set at the AO) and battled on in the tight 6-4 concluding set of their QF match-up.

The Canadian seems to improve with every big event, match and opponent she plays, and with the majority of the season still ahead of her -- without a truly big points defense other than her career-changing 1000 title run in Canada (she won just three combined MD matches at RG, SW19 and the U.S.) -- she's staring at a points-galore situation where the sky would seem to be her only limit for the remainder of '26.



Though her run ended via retirement, it's likely safe to say that Kartal got the most out of her in the desert that she could have, even if the Brit wasn't able to remain healthy enough to see it through to the very end.

With a Round of 16 at Wimbledon under her belt from last season, as well as a 4th Round (I.W., as a LL) and QF (Beijing) in 1000 events over the past year, it's no longer a *shock* to see the 24-year old playing into the second week of a big event. Her second straight such run in the desert came after wins over Lanlana Tararudee and Emma Navarro (against whom Kartal saved a MP), and was highlighted by an upset of Madison Keys.

Kartal retired with a lower back injury vs. Elena Rybakina in the 4th Round after having managed to stay close to the AO champ (at 6-4, 4-3) despite playing through pain.
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ITF PLAYERS: Alena & Jana Kovackova, CZE/CZE
...another week, another Crusher champion. Or, in this case, two of them (at the same time).

The Czech juniors continued to make their mark in pro ball this past week, improving their ITF challenger final record to 5-0 (w/ their second '26 win) with a 6-4/6-3 victory in the Heraklion (GRE) $50K final vs. Rositsa Dencheva/Vittoria Paganetti.

The sisters, 17-year old Alena and 15-year old Jana, are the reigning junior champions at the U.S. Open and Australian Open, as well as being the girls' doubles runners-up at last year's Roland Garros.


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JUNIOR STAR: Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva/BRA
...in recent weeks, just-turned-16 year old Leme da Silva won South American Regional Championship (J300) in Santa Cruz (BOL). This week, she stayed home and claimed the Brasil Juniors Cup (J300) in Porto Allegre, defeating Bannerette Welles Newman 6-1/7-5 in the final.

The Brazilian also took the doubles honors, teaming with Argentina's Sol Ailen Larraya Guidi (whom she defeated in the S.A. Regional final) to claim the trophy.

Leme da Silva will enter the girls' Top 20 on Monday.


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DOUBLES: Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend, CZE/USA
...you can't keep a good Czech down.

Siniakova may have worn herself down enough in singles to not be able to finish her Round of 16 run (ret. vs. Svitolina), but that didn't mean she couldn't wrap it up (her leg, that is) and pull it together to complete her desert mission in doubles. Already a former I.W. doubles champ (2023) and four-time finalist who had won more than twice as many matches in the tournament than she has at any other 1000 event, the Czech came out a day after her retirement and (w/ Townsend) knocked off the #1 seeded team of Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, then took down 2026 Doubles Race leaders Anna Danilina/Aleksandra Krunic in a 7-6/6-4 final to claim the title without dropping a set in the tournament.

Afterward, in full-on self-deprecating trophy presentation soliloquy mode (which we saw a bit of in Paris last year), Krunic (aka "The Bracelet" in this space) lamented what she determined was her own subpar play in the final, apologizing to Danilina for her having to play "three-against-one" in the match.

The win is Siniakova/Townsend's fourth as a pair, but comes more than a year since their last (Dubai '25). They've won Wimbledon ('24) and the Australian Open ('25), and reached the finals at the U.S. and WTAF since the Krejcikovva/Siniakova partnership became a semi part-time doubles entity.

It's the second win of '26 individually for both women (w/ each winning w/ another partner), the 13th in Townsend's career, and #34 for Siniakova. The Czech is now 28-8 in Indian Wells doubles, a far more extensive record than she has at any other 1000 event (her second-most 1000 wins are 12 in Dubai).



Meanwhile, Danilina/Krunic's seventh final together since last June (including two in majors), their third in a 1000 event, increases their season Doubles Race lead. The top-ranked duo leads #2 Dabrowski/Stefani by a healthy 1500 points (approx.) and holds a 1700-point edge on #3/AO champs Mertens/Zhang.
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WHEELCHAIR: Lizzy de Greef/NED
...in an all-NextGen final pitting the two youngest women in the WC Top 10, it was 21-year old de Greef defeating 20-year old Ksenia Chasteau 6-4/6-4, claiming her first 500 title in the new ITF wheelchair tournament designation scheme (she'd previously won four Series 1 titles in the old format) in the Rome, Georgia (US) event.

Long viewed as the follow-up Dutch contender to the Diede (de Groot) Era, de Greef has shined but has yet to find a way past the older generation, going a combined 4-22 in her career vs. the current Top 5: Yui Kamiji (0-9), Li Xiaohui (1-3), de Groot (0-4), Aniek Van Koot (3-6) and Wang Ziying (0-2).

De Greef posted wins over Angelica Bernal and Zhu Zhenzhen en route to the final (Chasteau had knocked off Lucy Shuker and Kgothatso Montjane). World #10 De Greef leads the head-to-head vs. the #7-ranked Pastry 5-0.
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[IW 3rd Rd.-to-Final]




1. Indian Wells Final - Aryna Sabalenka def. Elena Rybakina
...3-6/6-3/7-6(6). If the WTA could bottle this match, they'd have the greatest product in the world ideally within easy reach of everyone at any time. But we know they still wouldn't know *how* to sell it.

As it is, we'll just have to marvel at the two best players in the world (and on Monday also the top two *ranked* players in the world, just in time to be lined up for a *semifinal* rather than another final in Miami... once again, tennis' biggest opponent is often tennis itself) both playing great at the same time and producing the sort of high-level match drama (though the "crazy" kind is fun, too) that displays the WTA at its very best.

Less than two months after downing Sabalenka in the final in Melbourne, Rybakina took the 1st set from her in the desert in fairly routine fashion, breaking for 4-2 and coasting to the 6-3 win while the world #1 seemed to "accept" her fate. But Rybakina's trip off-court before the 2nd seemed to tilt the momentum onto Sabalenka's side of the court, as the Kazakh's level of play and tactics dropped a notch while a more aggressive Sabalenka finally found her groove.

Sabalenka knotted the match, then took a break lead at 3-1 in the 3rd, the same edge she'd had in the AO decider earlier this year.

Sabalenka flirted with another stumble here, but held on after seeing her 3-2, 40/love game lead go to deuce, buckling down and holding with an ace to go up 4-2. Down 15/40 two games later, Sabalenka ran off four straight points in the clutch (foreshadowing...) as Rybakina's unconverted BP streak was extended to six, holding for 5-3. Serving for the title at 5-4, though, Sabalenka again slipped behind at love/30. She ripped off a big forehand to get on the board, but then faced double BP. Rybakina broke for 5-5, and all the old memories of lost leads in big finals were barking inside Sabalenka's head.

With Sabalenka having converted all three BP she'd seen up until then, she had multiple chances to get the chance to serve it out again. In game 11, she had three BP chances on Rybakina second serves, and two others when the Kazakh got her first serve inside the box, but Sabalenka couldn't put away any of them. Rybakina held for 6-5, and a Sabalenka love hold sent things to a TB.

After the last TB between the two had seen Rybakina shockingly defeat the "Tie-Break Queen" 7-0 (at the WTAF), this one was a tight affair from the start. Rybakina got the first mini-break at 4-3, but Sabalenka got the breaker back on serve two points later. At 5-5, Rybakina fired a backhand winner down the line to reach MP, but Sabalenka saved it with a crosscourt backhand rocket.

In the next point, Rybakina's volley sailed beyond the baseline and suddenly the tables had turned and it was Sabalenka who had the MP at 7-6. Finally with the title on her racket again, she sent a big serve down the "T" that Rybakina couldn't keep in the court, and Sabalenka had pulled herself *all* the way up to safety after having been dangling from the cliff just moments before.

The Sabalenka victory ends Rybakina's 12-match winning streak over Top 10 opponents.

While both women played spectaular matches in the California sun, *another* loss after being so close to victory would have been such a body blow to Sabalenka (and the story of the '26 WTA season, as it would suddenly be focused on a tiresome *negative* surrounding the #1-ranked player rather than all the positives that *should* come from a match like this) that it's hard to not be glad that none of us have to experience it, or watch Sabalenka have to navigate such a moment until she gets another chance (and hopes it doesn't all unravel yet again).

Thankfully, everyone can move on to Miami (and beyond). So, there's no "Sabalenka Watch" for busted rackets or walls, or parsing of every comment she makes from here to Miami in an attempt to pump stale air into the narrative for the next stop. Thank the Tennis Gods for that.

Of course, we are talking about the WTA, so the excellence of the actual final wasn't equaled in the post-match ceremony (at least when the players weren't directing the show)...


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2. Indian Wells QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Victoria Mboko
...7-6(0)/6-4. The first time these two met, at this year's AO, Sabalenka won 6-1/7-6(1). This time, Mboko got into the match quicker and had chances to put scoreboard pressure on the Belarusian, holding three BP in game 3. Sabalenka saved all three, as did Mboko when the world #1 had three shots in game 8. The Canadian got Sabalenka into a breaker -- gulp -- but lost it 7-0, giving the tour's best TB-player a 14-1 combined edge in points in their back-to-back encounters. Mboko then held close in the 2nd before Sabalenka secured the first break of the match to go up 3-2.

Mboko held (saving a BP) two games later and then did so again to force Sabalenka to serve out the win. She did, putting Chapter 2 in the series officially in the books, as Mboko made an even better accounting of herself -- vs. a Sabalenka in blistering desert form -- than she did in the opener.

It's going to be fascinating to watch how this h2h evolves and how Mboko course corrects along the way, hopefully over the entire run of the '26 season all the way to and through the WTAF. The chase is on.
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3. Indian Wells 4th Rd. - Talia Gibson def. Jasmine Paolini
...7-5/2-6/6-1. Gibson polishes off her third straight Top 20 -- and first-ever Top 10 -- victim.

Meanwhile, Paolini makes off with some much-needed points, matching her Round of 16 I.W. run from a year ago after pulling her way through a pair of three-setters vs. Anastasia Potapova and Ajla Tomljanovic.

The Italian is still without a Top 50 win on the season, but has managed a 500 SF (Merida) and 1000 4r in her last two events, going a combined 4-2 (after a 3-4 start). With points from a Miami SF and good '25 clay season (13-3) to defend starting next week, Paolini needs *every* win/ranking point she can scrape out.
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4. Indian Wells 4th Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Karolina Muchova
...6-2/6-0. Swiatek's consistent form in the desert -- 4r-W-SF-W-SF yearly results coming in -- holds as she picks up her first Top 20 win of the season, while Muchova's great run crumbles to dust a year after she lost to the Pole 1 & 1 in Indian Wells in their last meeting. The Czech hasn't beaten Swiatek since 2019.

Muchova had won eight straight, and claimed 14 of the last 15 completed sets she'd played vs. 2026 opponents. She's still 14-3 on the season.

Meanwhile, as has been the case often over the past year or so, just when Swiatek seems to be flying the highest...


Indian Wells QF - Elina Svitolina def. Iga Swiatek
...6-2/4-6/6-4. The then-world #2 came out in her next match a shadow of her previous self, ultimately falling to Svitolina for the first time in nearly three years (and for the first time on hard court).

Swiatek's toss and second serve severely let her down in the 1st, as Svitolina dominated the opening set and (as usual) sent the Pole scurrying off court between sets to rediscover her balance. When she returned, all was improved. She jumped out to a 4-1 lead and, while Svitolina got things back even at 4-4, the Ukrainian couldn't keep it up and quickly gave back the final two games.

But rather than Swiatek's win signaling a dominant 3rd on her part, Svitolina didn't fade away and, instead, got the only break of the set to lead 5-4, then served out the win.



It's Svitolina's 47th career Top 10 victory, 26th vs. the Top 5 and 11th over the Top 2. It's just her second in six meetings against Swiatek, with the other coming at Wimbledon in 2023. She'd been 0-2 vs. the Pole on hard court, and hadn't won a set in their three meetings since SW19 three seasons ago.

For Swiatek, on the other hand, the loss is her fifth straight vs. Top 10 competition going back to last year (0-3 in '26), and drops her to 1-4 vs. the Top 20 this year. She's gone 1-7 against the Top 10 since her title run in Cincinnati last summer.

Scenes like this have become more and more commom with Swiatek the last couple of seasons...



You gotta wonder if if *something* might come to a head with Team Swiatek if things don't a decidedly experience an upward turn by sometime this summer.
============================================



5. Indian Wells MX Final - Belinda Bencic/Flavio Cobolli def. Gaby Dabrowski/Lloyd Glasspool
...6-3/2-6 [10-7]. Bencic has a history of doing well in exhibition/mixed/team events, and she adds the Indian Wells MX title to that collection, teaming with Italian Cobolli to take a MTB in the final for the honors.

They'd beaten AO runners-up Mladenovic/Guilnard in the QF, and defending champs Errani/Vavassori in the semis.

Incicdentally, the seeding in this competition was another example of how mixed seedings don't necessarily line-up with reality, as the top seeds in the event were Dabrowski/Glasspool, while Errani/Vavassori were #4 despite being the defending champions and winners of three of the last six MX major titles (including back-to-back U.S. Opens).


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6. Austin 125 Final - Lanlana Tararudee def. Bianca Andreescu
...6-3/3-6/6-3. Stepping back down from the full WTA level (where she went 0-2), Andreescu again shines, reaching her third singles final of the season (after a pair of ITF wins in January, which were her first singles titles since the 2019 U.S. Open) but falling short of taking her biggest win since her NYC triumph six and a half years ago.

Instead, 21-year old Thai Tararudee picks up her biggest career win in her second 125 final (after a 125 loss last July to Tereza Valentova).

The three-set match in the final has once again become a common theme in Andreescu's matches since she's stepped up from her ITF stint, where just three of her fourteen outings went the distance (she was a combined 13-1, winning 16 of her last 17 sets played). In her two tour-level appearances this season (Austin/Indian Wells) and on her return trip to Austin for this 125, she's now gone three in six of her seven matches (going 3-3).

Still, Andreescu is a combined 17-4 on the year and is back in the Top 150.
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7. Austin 125 1st Rd. - Lulu Sun def. Emma Navarro
...6-4/6-4. Once again, here was Navarro trying to snipe points in a 125 after an early exit in a bigger event, being given a #1 seed as a wild card as the only Top 50 player in the field... and not being able to notch a single match win.

She somehow managed to lose the 1st set to Sun after leading 4-1, even with the Kiwi puting in just 29% of her first serves and having three DF (and still only facing one BP). In the 2nd, Navarro had six DF of her own.
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8. Indian Wells 3rd Rd. - Alex Eala def. Coco Gauff
...6-2/209 ret. The marquee match-up for the middle Sunday night turned out to be a dud, as Gauff's left forearm injury hampered her enough against an in-form Eala that she pulled the ripcord just ten games into the match, offering up her first in-match retirement in almost four years (Cincinnati '22).


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[IW 3rd Rd.-to-Final]




1. Indian Wells 3rd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Mirra Andreeva
...4-6/7-6(5)/6-3. Andreeva's title defense attempt comes to a thudding end, even while she consistently pushed back against the Czech in the opening two sets, then held a break lead in the 3rd. And, once again -- as has become a too common occurrence when things haven't gone well for her on the court -- the teenager didn't go out with her head held high.

Siniakova had a double-break edge at 3-0 in the 1st before Andreeva ran off six of seven games to take the opener, then the teenager immediately erased Siniakova break leads on *three* occasions in the 2nd, only to see Siniakova prevail on her *fourth chance* in the tie-break.

Having knotted the match, it was Siniakova who erased Andreeva's break lead at 3-2 (converting on her fourth BP of the game) in the 3rd, then broke the Hordette again to end the match two games later for her 12th career Top 10 victory.

Siniakova was at a loss for words...



At the end of the match, we got a literal "welcome to the crazy women's tennis tour" crash of moments, from Andreeva's anger to Siniakova's tears to Andreeva's cursing at the fans and one fan's "oh-my" reaction to it all.



And here is where we respectfully recognize that not all teenagers arrive with the temperament of a Coco Gauff. It's hard not to push back -- by at least two majors -- the date of Andreeva's "inevitable" slam triumph every time her immaturity "escapes its container" like this.
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2. Indian Wells 4th Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Naomi Osaka
...6-2/6-4. So, it was the tiger vs. "the leopard." Supposedly a potentially "game-changing" match-up. Maybe if it'd happened five years ago, but not at the moment.

In just their second meeting, with the other coming *eight* seasons ago (a three-set Osaka win in '18 U.S. Open 4r, on her way to the title), Sabalenka gets some belated revenge with a straight sets win. Indian Wells was Osaka's first event since she pulled out of her scheduled AO 3rd Round match.



Since Osaka won the title in the desert in 2018, the stripes of her results have changed dramatically. She's yet to reach the QF in any of her returns to Tennis Paradise. Along with two DNPs in the years since, she's posted 4r-3r-2r-1r-4r results, following up her seven-win title run with a combined 7-5 record.

But, you know, she managed to get her photos posted all over social media last week due to her outfit and various pieces of jewelry, so there's that, I guess.

Osaka's last tour-level singles title is now more than five years in the rearview (AO21).
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*2020-26 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
25 - 1/2/8/6/5/3/0 = Iga Swiatek
18 - 3/2/0/3/4/4/2 = ARYNA SABALENKA
11 - 1/0/1/2/3/3/1 = Elena Rybakina
10 - 0/1/0/4/3/2/0 = Coco Gauff
9 - 0/0/1/2/2/3/1 = Jessie Pegula
8 - 1/5/2 = Ash Barty (ret.)
8 - 0/3/2/2/1/0/0 = Barbora Krejcikova

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2026*
3 - ARYNA SABALENKA (2-1)
2 - ELENA RYBAKINA (1-1)
2 - Elina Svitolina (1-1)
2 - Victoria Mboko (0-2)
[2020-26]
34 - 3/3/3/6/7/9/3 = SABALENKA (18-16)
29 - 1/2/9/8/5/4/0 = Swiatek (25-4)
22 - 5/0/3/4/5/3/2 = RYBAKINA (11-11)
19 - 1/0/2/5/4/6/1 = Pegula (9-10)
14 - 0/4/2/2/6/0/0 = Kasatkina (6-8)
13 - 0/1/1/4/3/4/0 = Gauff (10-3)

*MOST 2020-2026 ALL FINAL MATCHUPS*
6...RYBAKINA/SABALENKA - 2023,24,25,26(2) = Rybakina 4-2
5...Sabalenka/Swiatek - 2022,23,24 = Swiatek 4-1
3...Gauff/Sabalenka - 2023,25 = Gauff 2-1
3...Pegula/Sabalenka - 2024,25 = Sabalenka 3-0
3...Pegula/Swiatek - 2023,25 = Swiatek 2-1

*MOST WTA SF in 2026*
4 - ELINA SVITOLINA (2-2)
3 - ARYNA SABALENKA (3-0)
3 - Jessie Pegula (1-2)
2 - Victoria Mboko (2-0)
2 - ELENA RYBAKINA (2-0)
2 - Iva Jovic (1-1)
2 - Karolina Muchova (1-1)
2 - Kimberly Birrell (0-2)

*MOST TOP 10 WINS in 2026*
5 - Rybakina
4 - Mboko, Pegula, Svitolina
3 - Kostyuk, Sabalenka
2 - Bencic, Eala, Muchova, Sakkari

*WON/LOST OF TOP 10-RANKED PLAYERS IN 2026*
19-4 - Elina Svitolina*
17-1 - Aryna Sabalenka*
17-4 - Elena Rybakina*
16-3 - Jessie Pegula*
16-5 - Victoria Mboko*
12-5 - Iga Swiatek*
12-5 - Mirra Andreeva*
11-5 - Coco Gauff*
9-3 - Belinda Bencic#
9-5 - Amanda Anisimova*
7-6 - Jasmine Paolini*
7-4 - Madison Keys#
4-7 - Ekaterina Alexandrova#
[Top 20-ranking only in '26]
14-3 - Karolina Muchova#
14-6 - Iva Jovic#
10-5 - Elise Mertens#
9-5 - Linda Noskova#
8-7 - Clara Tauson#
7-6 - Diana Shnaider#
5-2 - Naomi Osaka#
5-3 - Marta Kostyuk
4-7 - Liudmila Samsonova
4-8 - Emma Navarro
--
* - current Top 10 (week of March 16); # - current #11-20

*2020-26 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
27 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA (1/6/6/3/5/4/2)
15 - Barbora Krejcikova (1/5/3/4/1/1/0)
15 - Elise Mertens (1/4/2/2/3/2/1)
13 - Luisa Stefani (1/1/2/3/1/4/1)
13 - TAYLOR TOWNSEND (1/0/0/3/3/4/2)
12 - Gaby Dabrowski (0/1/3/2/2/3/1)
12 - Anna Danilina (0/1/2/1/5/2/1)
12 - Hsieh Su-wei (4/2/0/2/3/0/1)
12 - Nicole Melichar-Martinez (2/2/2/0/3/3/0)
12 - Erin Routliffe (0/1/1/3/3/4/0)

*2026 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
3 (1-2) = ANNA DANILINA
3 (1-2) = ALEKSANDRA KRUNIC
2 (2-0) = KATERINA SINIAKOVA
2 (2-0) = TAYLOR TOWNSEND
2 (2-0) = Zhang Shuai
2 (1-1) = Cristina Bucsa
2 (1-1) = Hsieh Su-wei
2 (1-1) = Alona Ostapenko
[2026 finals - duos]
3...DANIILINA/KRUNIC (1-2)
2...Hsieh/Ostapenko (1-1)

*CAREER WTA DOUBLES TITLES - active*
36 - Sara Errani
36 - Hsieh Su-Wei
34 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA
30 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands
30 - Kristina Mladenovic
29 - Timea Babos
24 - Elise Mertens
22 - Venus Williams

*CAREER TITLES AT I.W., MIAMI and HC SLAM*
Victoria Azarenka (AO)
Kim Clijsters (AO/US)
Steffi Graf (AO/US)
Martina Hingis (AO/US)
Martina Navratiova (AO/US)
ARYNA SABALENKA (AO/US)
Monica Seles (AO/US)
Iga Swiatek (US)
Serena Williams (AO/US)
[recently active players w/ 2 of 3]
Andreescu: IW + US
Barty: MIA + AO (ret)
Kuznetsova: MIA + US (ret)
Osaka: IW + AO/US
Rybakina: IW + AO
Stephens: MIA + US
V.Williams: MIA + US

*INDIAN WELLS FACTS 1989-present*
=SINGLES=
[recent finals]
2018 Naomi Osaka def. Dasha Kasatkina
2019 Bianca Andreescu def. Angelique Kerber
2020 DNP
2021 Paula Badosa def. Victoria Azarenka
2022 Iga Swiatek def. Maria Sakkari
2023 Elena Rybakina def. Aryna Sabalenka
2024 Iga Swiatek def. Maria Sakkari
2025 Mirra Andreeva def. Aryna Sabalenka
2026 Aryna Sabalenka def. Elena Rybakina
[Most Singles Titles]
2 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2 - Kim Clijsters, BEL
2 - Lindsay Davenport, USA
2 - Mary Joe Fernandez, USA
2 - Steffi Graf, GER
2 - Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2 - Martina Navratilova, USA
2 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
2 - Iga Swiatek, POL
2 - Serena Williams, USA
[Consecutive Titles]
2 - Martina Navratilova (1990-91)
[Most Finals]
6 - Lindsay Davenport (2-4)
3 - Victoria Azarenka (2-1)
3 - Steffi Graf (2-1)
3 - Maria Sharapova (2-1)
3 - Serena Williams (2-1)
3 - Martina Hingis (1-2)
3 - Aryna Sabalenka (1-2)
3 - Caroline Wozniacki (1-2)
3 - Svetlana Kuznetseva (0-3)
2 - Kim Clijsters (2-0)
2 - Mary Joe Fernandez (2-0)
2 - Daniela Hantuchova (2-0)
2 - Martina Navratilova (2-0)
2 - Iga Swiatek (2-0)
2 - Ana Ivanovic (1-1)
2 - Jelena Jankovic (1-1)
2 - Elena Rybakina (1-1)
2 - Monica Seles (1-1)
2 - Amanda Coetzer (0-2)
2 - Maria Sakkari (0-2)
[Consecutive Finals]
3 - Lindsay Davenport (2003-05)
2 - Martina Navratilova (1990-91)
2 - Monica Seles (1991-92)
2 - Amanda Coetzer (1993-94)
2 - Lindsay Davenport (1997-98)
2 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (2007-08)
2 - Ana Ivanovic (2008-09)
2 - Caroline Wozniacki (2010-11)
2 - Maria Sharapova (2012-13)
2 - Aryna Sabalenka (2025-26)
[Consecutive Match Wins]
10 - Martina Navratilova (1990-91)
10 - Ana Ivanovic (2008-09)
10 - Iga Swiatek (2022-23)
10 - Iga Swiatek (2024-25)
[Unseeded Singles Champions]
1999 Serena Williams, USA
2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 Bianca Andreescu, CAN (WC)
[Youngest Singles Champions]
17y,166d - Martina Hingis (1998)
17y,169d - Serena Williams (1999)
17y,321d - Mirra Andreeva (2025)
18y,90d - Monica Seles (1992)
18y,274d - Bianca Andreescu (2019)
[Youngest Singles Finalists]
17y,91d - Monica Seles, 1991
17y,166d - Martina Hingis, 1998 (W)
17y,169d - Serena Williams, 1999 (W)
17y,283d - Kim Clijsters, 2001
17y,321d - Mirra Andreeva, 2025 (W)
[Oldest Singles Champions]
36 - Martina Navratilova (1991)
35 - Martina Navratilova (1990)
32 - Flavia Pennetta (2014)
[9/36 Champions Have Won No Slam Titles]
1989 Manuela Maleeva, BUL
1993 Mary Joe Fernandez, USA
1995 Mary Joe Fernandez, USA (2)
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2007 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK (2)
2009 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2010 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2017 Elena Vesnina, RUS
2021 Paula Badosa, ESP
2025 Mirra Andreeva, RUS
[6 Champions Have Never Reached Slam Finals]
1989 Manuela Maleeva, BUL
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2007 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2017 Elena Vesnina, RUS
2021 Paula Badosa, ESP
2025 Mirra Andreeva, RUS
[Only 10 Finalists Have Never Reached a Slam Final]
1989 Manuela Maleeva (best slam: SF)
1989 Jenny Byrne (3rd)
1997 Irina Spirlea (SF)
1993/94 Amanda Coetzer (SF)
2002/07 Daniela Hantuchova (SF)
2018 Dasha Kasatkina (SF)
2021 Paula Badosa (SF)
2022 Maria Sakkari (SF)
2024 Maria Sakkari (SF)
2025 Mirra Andreeva (SF)
[Only 1 Finalist Has Never Reached a Slam SF]
1989 Jenny Byrne (3rd)
=DOUBLES=
[recent champions]
2018 Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova
2019 Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka
2020 DNP
2021 Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens
2022 Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan
2023 Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova
2024 Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens
2025 Asia Muhammad/Demi Schuurs
2026 Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend
[Most Titles]
7 - Lisa Raymond, USA
6 - Lindsay Davenport, USA
4 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
3 - Martina Hingis, SUI
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL
3 - Elena Vesnina, RUS
2 - Sania Mirza, IND
2 - Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
2 - Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2 - Samantha Stosur, AUS
2 - Rennae Stubbs, AUS
2 - Paola Suarez, ARG
2 - Helena Sukova, CZE
2 - Natasha Zvereva, BLR
[Most Titles - duos]
2 - Davenport/Raymond, USA/USA
2 - Davenport/Zvereva, USA/BLR
2 - Hsieh/Mertens, TPE/BEL
2 - Ruano Pascual/Suarez, ESP/ARG
2 - Raymond/Stosur, USA/AUS
[Consecutive Titles]
1994-95 Raymond/Davenport
1997-98 Davenport/Zvereva
2002-03 Lisa Raymond
2004-05 Ruano Pascual/Suarez
2006-07 Raymond/Stosur
[MX Champions]
2024 Storm Hunter/Matthew Ebden, AUS/AUS
2025 Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori, ITA/ITA
2026 Belinda Bencic/Flavio Cobolli, SUI/ITA

*REACHED AO-IW-MIA FINALS IN A SEASON*
1991 Monica Seles (W-L-W)
1994 Steffi Graf (W-W-W)
2000 Lindsay Davenport (W-W-L)
2000 Martina Hingis (L-L-W)
2012 Maria Sharapova (L-L-L)
2023 Elena Rybakina (L-W-L)
2025 Aryna Sabalenka (L-L-W)
--
2026: Rybakina (W-L) and Sabalenka (L-W) in AO/IW finals

*MOST EVENTS BEFORE TWO-TIME CHAMP TO START SEASON, since 1987*
--[w/ first to win two titles]--
1987 - 5th - Hana Mandlikova - Brisbane/AO
1988 - 4th - Pam Shriver - Brisbane/Sydney
1989 - 5th - Martina Navratilova - Sydney/Tokyo
1990 - 3rd - Natasha Zvereva - Brisbane/Sydney
1991 - 12th - Jana Novotna - Sydney/OKC
1992 - 5th - Gabriela Sabatini - Sydney/Tokyo
1993 - 7th - Monica Seles - AO/Chicago
1994 - 5th - Steffi Graf - AO/Tokyo
1995 - 13th - Steffi Graf - Paris Indoors/Delray
1996 - 4th - Monica Seles - Sydney/AO
1997 - 5th - Martina Hingis - Sydney/AO
1998 - 8th - Patty Schnyder - Hobart/Hanover
1999 - 6th - Martina Hingis - AO/Tokyo
2000 - 13th (w/ 1 DNP F) - Lindsay Davenport - AO/IW
2001 - 3rd - Justine Henin - Gold Coast/Canberra
2002 - 7th - Martina Hingis - Sydney/Tokyo
2003 - 8th - Serena Williams - AO/Paris Indoors
2004 - 6th - Justine Henin - Sydney/AO
2005 - 14th - Maria Sharapova - Tokyo/Doha
2006 - 8th - Amelie Mauresmo - AO/Paris Indoors
2007 - 14th - Justine Henin - Dubai/Doha
2008 - 8th - Justine Henin - Sydney/Antwerp
2009 - 3rd - Elena Dementieva - Auckland/Sydney
2010 - 6th - Elena Dementieva - Sydney/Paris Indoors
2011 - 6th - Petra Kvitova - Brisbane/Paris Indoors
2012 - 5th - Victoria Azarenka - Sydney/AO
2013 - 4th - Aga Radwanska - Auckland/Sydney
2014 - 6th - Li Na - Shenzhen/AO
2015 - 9th - Simona Halep - Shenzhen/Dubai
2016 - 11th - Sloane Stephens - Auckland/Acapulco
2017 - 9th - Karolina Pliskova - Brisbane/Doha
2018 - 9th - Petra Kvitova - Saint Petersburg/Doha
2019 - 19th - Petra Kvitova - Sydney/Stuttgart
2020 - 12th - Sofia Kenin - AO/Lyon
2021 - 12th (w/ 1 DNP F) - Dasha Kasatkina - Phillip Island/Saint Petersburg
2022 - 6th - Ash Barty - Adelaide 1/AO
2023 - 5th - Aryna Sabalenka - Adelaide 1/AO
2024 - 7th - Alona Ostapenko - Adelaide/Linz
2025 - 5th - Madison Keys - Adelaide/AO
2026 - 13th - Aryna Sabalenka - Brisbane/Indian Wells

*2026 WC EVENT CHAMPIONS (100+/jr.majors)*
Sydney 500: Yui Kamiji/JPN
Melbourne 500: Wang Xiying/CHN
Melbourne 1000: Yui Kamiji/JPN
AO: Li Xiaohui/CHN
AO Juniors: Luna Gryp/BEL
Rotterdam 500: Diede de Groot/NED
Bolton 100: Pauline Deroulede/FRA
Bolton 175: Angelica Bernal/COL
Rome USA 500: Lizzy de Greef/NED






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Ossoff: "The WH put out a video depicting this war as a video game. When service members are returning in flag-draped coffins, & even more have lost limbs or suffered brain injuries or are fighting for their lives, this WH treats war like a game. It's a disgrace. And it speaks to a moral rot."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 13, 2026 at 7:41 PM


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It’s almost like Trump planned all this from the very beginning.

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) March 12, 2026 at 5:15 PM


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All for now.
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