The Indian Wells Open is on to the women’s final. The final features World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka against World No. 3 Elena Rybakina. The match begins at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Sabalenka is -148 on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Rybakina is a +121 underdog. This is my best bet to target for the Sabalenka vs. Rybakina match.
Aryna Sabalenka vs. Elena Rybakina Preview
This is quickly turning into one of the greatest rivalries in tennis. This will be the third significant final that these two have played in the past few months. It started with the 2025 WTA Finals, where Rybakina defeated Sabalenka to become the WTA’s year-end champion. That win earned her $5.235 million, the largest single payout to a female athlete in history. Rybakina followed that win with another victory over Sabalenka in the 2026 Australian Open final. That win earned Rybakina her second career Grand Slam title. Now, Rybakina is looking for the three-peat in this Indian Wells final. This would be Rybakina’s second-career Indian Wells title. No matter the result on Sunday, Rybakina will become the No. 2 player in the world in the next WTA rankings, the highest ranking of her career.
Despite her recent head-to-head struggles against Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka is the best women’s tennis player in the world. She has been for several years now, with an incredible run of consistent results. Sabalenka draws some criticism for her inability to get it done in big finals. However, that criticism is only possible because of the number of big finals Sabalenka plays her way into. Dating back to her first major win in 2023, she has made the semifinals in 11 of 12 Grand Slams that she has participated in. Of those 11 semifinals, she has made the final eight times and won four times. In addition to those four majors, Sabalenka has nine career WTA Masters 1000 titles. A win here at Indian Wells would turn that figure into double digits.
Aryna Sabalenka vs. Elena Rybakina Pick, Best Bet
My best bet for this match is on Elena Rybakina to win. Despite taking down Sabalenka in the WTA Finals and the Australian Open final in recent months, Rybakina is still a +121 underdog in this match. Not only does Rybakina have the recent history over Sabalenka, but she also has the history at this venue. These two faced off in the 2021 Indian Wells final, where Rybakina defeated Sabalenka to win the title. Sabalenka also made it to the Indian Wells final and lost last year, so she has never been able to get it done here.
These two have an intense recent history, but the rivalry goes back much longer than that. These two have played each other 15 times dating back to 2019. Sabalenka holds a slight 8-7 edge in the career head-to-head. However, Rybakina has now won three of the past four meetings, including those two significant recent meetings. These are also two of the most powerful players on tour. They both win over 73% of their first-serve points, but also have great return games.
There is little to separate these two fantastic players. However, in the five instances that they have faced off in finals, Rybakina has won four of the five titles. She has consistently performed better in the big moments than Sabalenka has. On top of that, Rybakina is the plus-money underdog in this match. That is why my best bet is on Elena Rybakina to win this match and add a second Indian Wells title to her collection.
