Elena Rybakina has reached her second final of the year at Indian Wells.
Rybakina beat Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-4 to reach the final of Indian Wells for the first time since 2023, when she won the title.
This has continued a hugely impressive start to the 2026 season for Rybakina, who is already confirmed to reach her career-high ranking of world number two after the conclusion of Indian Wells.
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Rybakina will play Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final, and she has now confirmed if she is targeting her opponent’s world number one ranking this year.
Elena Rybakina claims becoming world number one is her ‘biggest goal’ this year
Rybakina is currently second in the live WTA rankings, a significant 2,892 points behind world number one Sabalenka.
While this seems to be too big a gap to close for Rybakina, she actually leads the race to the WTA Finals, which only counts ranking points earned in 2026, over Sabalenka.
| Live WTA Rankings | WTA Ranking Points | Position in the WTA Race |
| 1. Aryna Sabalenka | 10,675 points | 2nd – 2,450 points |
| 2. Elena Rybakina | 7,783 points | 1st – 3,093 points |
When asked if dethroning Sabalenka, who has been world number one for 73 consecutive weeks, is something she is targeting this year, Rybakina confirmed that it is her ‘biggest goal’.
“Well, it’s a great achievement, of course, and to stay so long as number one, you need to be very consistent,” Rybakina said about Sabalenka’s reign as world number one in her post-match press conference.
“She showed great tennis for the past couple of years, so of course my goal is to get even higher in the ranking, to get this position as number one, but I know it’s still a lot of work. It all depends on the other players too.
“Yeah, definitely that’s my biggest goal, next goal. So, yeah, I will try to do it this year, and hopefully it happens.”
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Elena Rybakina vs Aryna Sabalenka Head-to-Head
Rybakina will look to continue to close the gap on Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final, as she looks to win the title in California for the second time in her career.
This will be the 16th time they have played each other, with Sabalenka leading the head-to-head 8-7.
Sabalenka won the first four matches in their head-to-head, but Rybakina has won three of their four most recent encounters.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2019 | Wuhan Open (QF) | Sabalenka beat Rybakina, 6-3 1-6 6-1 |
| 2021 | Abu Dhabi Open (QF) | Sabalenka beat Rybakina, 6-4 4-6 6-3 |
| 2021 | Wimbledon (R16) | Sabalenka beat Rybakina, 6-3 4-6 6-3 |
| 2023 | Australian Open (F) | Sabalenka beat Rybakina, 4-6 6-3 6-4 |
| 2023 | Indian Wells (F) | Rybakina beat Sabalenka, 7-6(11) 6-4 |
| 2023 | China Open (QF) | Rybakina beat Sabalenka, 7-5 6-2 |
| 2023 | WTA Finals (RR) | Sabalenka beat Rybakina, 6-2 3-6 6-3 |
| 2024 | Brisbane International (F) | Rybakina beat Sabalenka, 6-0 6-3 |
| 2024 | Madrid Open (SF) | Sabalenka beat Rybakina, 1-6 7-5 7-6(5) |
| 2024 | WTA Finals (RR) | Rybakina beat Sabalenka, 6-4 3-6 6-1 |
| 2025 | Berlin Tennis Open (QF) | Sabalenka beat Rybakina, 7-6(6) 3-6 7-6(6) |
| 2025 | Cincinnati Open (QF) | Rybakina beat Sabalenka, 6-1 6-4 |
| 2025 | Wuhan Open (QF) | Sabalenka beat Rybakina, 6-3 6-3 |
| 2025 | WTA Finals (F) | Rybakina beat Sabalenka, 6-3 7-6(0) |
| 2026 | Australian Open (F) | Rybakina beat Sabalenka, 6-4 4-6 6-4 |
Rybakina beat Sabalenka in the Australian Open final earlier this year and she has actually won four of the last five finals they have played against each other, including the Indian Wells final in 2023.
When asked about her record against Sabalenka in finals, Rybakina spoke about how physical their previous encounters have been.
“I actually didn’t think about this statistic, because I lost in Australia. Not this year; the previous [2023],” said Rybakina.
“But, well, as I always say, every day is different, every tournament is different, and you can play well one day and then the other day wake up and not feel the greatest. So I feel like you need to always try to find a way.
“We know each other’s game very well. It’s a lot about physical, I would say also, because here, the ball is heavy, the rallies a little bit longer than on the other hard courts, which are a little bit quicker.
“It’s gonna be difficult match where we both gonna try to serve well, that’s for sure, put pressure, and, I mean, we will see what’s gonna happen.”
Rybakina will look to win her fifth consecutive final against Sabalenka when they play in the championship match at Indian Wells on Sunday, March 15.
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