Aryna Sabalenka has reached the final of Indian Wells for the third time in her career.
Sabalenka beat Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 to reach the championship match at Indian Wells again, having not dropped a set at this year’s tournament.
After the match, Sabalenka was asked about the incident between Daniil Medvedev and Jack Draper in their quarterfinal at Indian Wells, which saw a hindrance called against the latter.
Sabalenka has dealt with a hindrance call of her own this year, and she has now called for a rule change.
Aryna Sabalenka gives her reaction to Daniil Medvedev and Jack Draper hindrance
During a crucial point in the second set of their match, Draper appeared to briefly pause and move his arms as he thought the ball had gone out, before the point continued and Medvedev hit the ball in the net.
After hitting the ball in the net, Medvedev protested against this and called for the video review, where a hindrance was subsequently called against Draper and the Russian was awarded the point.
This is not the only incident of hindrance at Indian Wells this year, with Djokovic calling out Arthur Rinderknech during their doubles match as well.
When asked about these growing number of incidents, Sabalenka claimed that she did not think Draper’s movement actually bothered Medvedev that much, as she also spoke about her incident with Elina Svitolina at the Australian Open.
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe just ref — actually, I feel like what happened to Daniil, he asked for Video Review, right? What happened to me, I just feel like the referee wanted to, you know, show that she’s working there, she’s aware of all of that stuff,” Sabalenka said in her post-match press conference.
“I rewatched my video, and I felt like there was nothing, like, even Elina was shocked there. She was, like, What happened? So I don’t know. I feel like — I don’t know. It’s tricky one.
“I feel like, with me, it was unnecessary for the referee to call that one. About Daniil yesterday, I mean, theoretically he did the move, but I don’t think it actually bothered Daniil that much.”
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Aryna Sabalenka calls for rule change regarding the video review system
Following these comments, Sabalenka was asked if she thinks the growing number of hindrance calls is related to the availability of video review to players and umpires.
Sabalenka responded by calling for a rule change with the video review system, claiming that players should only be able to request it if they stop the point immediately when the incident happens.
“What I think is really awkward is you can actually finish the point and then ask for that,” said the world number one. “Because if you really got bothered, then you should stop immediately and ask for the Video Review, giving players opportunity to finish the point.
“It’s kind of, like, if he would win that point, he wouldn’t probably ask for Video Review, obviously, right? I don’t really think that’s the way it should be, like, if he got bothered, then ask for the Video Review straightaway.”
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Sabalenka will be hoping to avoid any kind of drama when she plays Elena Rybakina in the Indian Wells final on Sunday, March 15.
The Belarusian will be hoping it is third time lucky in Indian Wells finals for her, but Sabalenka has lost four of five finals she has previously played against Rybakina, including the final of the BNP Paribas Open in 2023.
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