On Friday, Sabalenka and Rybakina dispatched Linda Noskova and Elina Svitolina in straight-sets to set up another thrilling final.

Rybakina lifted the trophy at the 2026 Australian Open final earlier this year, and the 2023 Indian Wells champion is setting her sights on winning the title again. But Sabalenka, the woman she defeated in both finals, is standing in her way.

Two-time major champion Rybakina notched a 7-5, 6-4 victory over ninth-seeded Svitolina on Friday night, extending her streak of consecutive wins against Top 10 players to 12.

Great match

“Of course I’m going to fight as much as I can, and hopefully it’s going to be a great match,” Rybakina said after the win.

Earlier on Friday, Sabalenka eased past Noskova (6-3, 6-4) to book her third career final in the California desert.  World number one Sabalenka has been in formidable form this season, winning 16 of her first 17 matches, with her only defeat coming against Rybakina in the Melbourne showpiece in January.

Photo: X/BNP Paribas Open

After the match, Sabalenka said she is done losing big finals.

“It felt like even though players were playing incredible tennis in those finals, I had so many opportunities that I didn’t use. And right now my mentality is that if I make it to the final, I’ll go out there and do everything I can, and everything I cannot, to get the trophy.” 

Rybakina and Sabalenka have met 16 times, with Sabalenka holding a slim 8-7 edge. The pair have previously met in five finals, with Rybakina winning four of them.

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger dg