Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are the two best players on the WTA Tour right now.
Sabalenka beat Rybakina to win Indian Wells for the first time in her career, saving a match point to do so.
This is already the second final they have played this year, with Rybakina beating Sabalenka to win the Australian Open title.
With Rybakina confirmed to become world number two after Indian Wells, Sabalenka has revealed what she really thinks about their developing rivalry.
Aryna Sabalenka claims Elena Rybakina is ‘the kindest’ player on tour
Sabalenka’s 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) win over Rybakina was the 16th match they have played in their rivalry, which is the most of any active head-to-head on the WTA Tour, equal to Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.
This win in the Indian Wells final means that Sabalenka now leads Rybakina 9-7, and she revealed in her post-match press conference that she actually enjoys the rivalry with the Australian Open champion, who she claimed is one of the ‘kindest’ on tour.
“Yeah, she’s a nice one,” said Sabalenka. “I would say that she’s the kindest one on tour. Yeah, we have been playing for so long so many matches. And honestly, I really enjoy it, even though I lost so many of them and really painful ones.
“But still I enjoy it because it means that the final gonna be a show, it’s gonna be great tennis, great level, and it’s gonna be a fight, which is great for people to watch and also for me to become a better player.
“So I really enjoy our rivalry. So, yeah, I like her as a person, as a player, and I enjoy these battles. But I really hope that I’m gonna win all of them from now on.”
Although Sabalenka leads their head-to-head, she had actually lost her last four finals against Rybakina prior to beating her at Indian Wells.
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Aryna Sabalenka explains why she was ‘not happy’ in the first and second sets
Sabalenka ended up with the title at Indian Wells, but she sometimes cut a frustrated figure in her match against Rybakina.
When asked about why she seemed so stressed during the match, Sabalenka admitted that she was ‘tired’ of losing the big finals and explained that she was unhappy with her level at the start of both the first and second sets.
“Well, as I said before going to this final, I am so tired of losing these big finals,” added Sabalenka. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, players were playing incredible tennis, but still I managed to fight through and to get my opportunity, and I didn’t use it so many times.
“So in this final, the way I started the first set and then the first game of the second set, I was really not happy with that, and I was just trying to find something, find a way to get this win for myself, to feel more confident going into the next final. So I guess that’s why.”
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Sabalenka will look to continue the winning feeling at the Miami Open next week, where she will be the defending champion.
The main draw of the Miami Open gets underway on Tuesday, March 17, but Sabalenka will not play her first match until either Thursday or Friday.
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