Sabalenka vs Rybakina | Indian Wells 2026 | Final Preview & Prediction

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1:01This episode is brought to you by Nespresso. Introducing Virtua Up, the latest and a long line of innovation from Nespresso. It's innovation you can touch, sense and taste in every single cup. With a three-second start, easy open lever and dedicated brew over ice button, it's even easier to enjoy your coffee your way. Sit for yourself. Shop Virtua Up exclusively at Nespresso.com. It's Indian Wells final time and it's the two biggest hitters on the women's tour. Going at it again, the two inform buyers. We've got Yalena Revakina. We've got Alina Sabalenko. It's the Australian open final all over again and this is the preview. So let's go through it. That's right. And if you haven't done so yet, give us a like and subscribe to the channel. Here we are again. It seems Yalena Revakina continuing her unbelievable form in 2026,

2:10really coming back to the top of the game with a bang and she meets in the final. Will it be third times a charm for Alina Sabalenko because she's yet to win Indian Wells, but this could be her opportunity and she's playing fantastically. She's recently engaged and it could be that she's going to be sort of enjoying the happiness of this moment with a huge tournament win. Wouldn't that be the cherry on the ice in on top of the cake? I think, well, everyone would be really, really happy for it. More so than they already are. Revakina has already won this tournament before. She won it back in 2023 against Sabalenko in the final and Sabalenko last year lost to Mila and Leyva in the final as well. Surely her time has to

3:11come at some point, but will it be this year and to get through to the final, she defeated a young check player in J.E.G.'s top 10 for the end of the year. It is Linda Noscova. She did it in straight sets as well. She was a heavy favorite coming into this one, but she did it in style and Noscova, brilliant tournament she had, but it was not ever going to be enough when you're playing the best player in the world. I would say she and Revakina right now is hard to pick between them and I think it is the perfect final. I had Sabalenko pre-tolerant J.E.G had Revakina pre-tolerant and now we get to see who was right. You can see 11 aces from Sabalenko in this one. Only had to save two break points out of the three to get it done and we had obviously Noscova

4:12saving seven out of 10, which is a really good effort on her side. You can see where the service stats don't lie. 74% of first serve points won and 60% of second serve points won. It was just a brilliant brilliant performance from Sabalenko. I would expect nothing different done in just under an hour and a half and her whole tournament has been straight sets plain sailing and she went through Sakatsume in the first Christian in the second. Then he got tougher, Namiya Saka, but she made light work of a Saka in straight sets. Then it really did get tougher. We had Victoria on Boko and she took her out in straight sets as well. That was probably the toughest of all of them and then Noscova. I think she'll just be happy to have got this deep in the tournament. Semifinals against Sabalenko was always going to be a really tough one. Sabalenko 14, WTA 1000

5:18finals now. That is a stat and a half and her third Indian world will it be third times a charm? She's up against a fierce competitor, somebody who didn't hold back. She nearly tore Spitalina a new one in that second set, but credit to Spitalina, she fought back from five one down in that second set. There were multiple match points as I'll show you on the screen here. You can see it was four love. Then it was five one and then we had match point. Didn't manage to take the first one. Then she served, had match point. Didn't manage to take that one, got broken. Then Spitalina held and then eventually on the third. She got it done six four in that second set. Good performance from both of the women in this one. I'd say a lot closer than the other match. It could have been

6:21less, but for Spitalina's fighting spirit, she was able to pull it back. I think Spitalina, look, you can see, served as many aces as Rebecca and her, but the double faults were there as well. First serve points one was strong for Rebecca and a little bit weak on the second serve, 38 percent of points one and that's something that Sabel Enka will be looking to exploit if she doesn't get enough of those first serves in in the final. This is who she's beaten on the way there. Bap teased. She actually dropped a set against Bap teased. There's a little bit of a slow start for a back in her. Then it was cost your constraints sets. Cartel, she was going to win in straight sets, but Cartel pulled out of this one injured and then we had Pagula. I thought that was one of the really impressive performances straight sets again and then the Spitalina won. Spitalina still cementing herself right at the top of the women's game in 2026, such credit to her and she is right

7:24up there. She's beaten eager again and it's just one of those players who is just having this purple patch of just great tennis. So to be able to beat her in straight sets, credit to her back and she's going to have to have her eye game out there because these two you can wedge a cigarette paper between them. It is that tight and it is eight seven in the head to head in favor of Arena Sabel Enka and you can see I'll go down to when they last played. So we know when the last match was, it was at the Australian Open in the final, Rebecca and I was the victor, all of the six fours there in a three set win and then we had in the WTA finals in the final, Rebecca and I won again. We got in Wuhan, Sabel Enka managed to get the win. We had in Cincinnati in the quarter finals,

8:26Rebecca and I got the win. You see, it's a little bit, you take one, you lose one. But I think a big significant statistic coming into this final, which we surely cannot ignore. So I had to put a tweet out because no one else had mentioned it is Sabel Enka won her only final against Rebecca in her first final and that was at the Australian Open in 2023. Since then, Sabel Enka has lost her last four finals against Rebecca and is Indian Wells where she finally breaks the trend. That's the big question. Sabel Enka, if it's going to mean so much to her if she's able to win this match and that's why we're going to have to give our prediction. We know which way JG is going. He's already picked Rebecca and her. Have I been impressed enough by Rebecca and her to think that she's going to turn Sabel Enka over again? I'm sticking with what I think is, it's in the stars

9:34and Sabel Enka. What do they say? You're once, twice, three times a champion. That's what I think is going to be for Sabel Enka in this one. It's three times a lady, three times a champion. On the third attempt, I think she gets it done and I think it's got to be three sets between these two. In a final, they always bring the heat. I think that that second serve might get exploited by Sabel Enka and she'll have to do it the hard way. I think that she might even lose the first set and come back to win in three sets. But that's my prediction. Tell me yours in that comment section below and if you haven't done so yet, give us a like, subscribe and we'll see you for some reaction to the men's semi-finals tomorrow morning. See you then.