Why Aryna Sabalenka dominates the WTA: Insights from Coco Gauff’s former coach

Brad Gilbert highlights what separates Aryna Sabalenka from her peers.

Aryna Sabalenka will be aiming to retain her Indian Wells title this Sunday when she faces Elena Rybakina.

The Belarusian, who got past Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final, will also be looking to get some revenge for her loss to Rybakina in the 2024 Australian Open final.

Rybakina, who will move up to world number two after the tournament, has been gaining momentum on the WTA Tour and has won their last two meetings.

However, Sabalenka has proven herself to be the most consistently excellent player on the tour, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

Brad Gilbert spoke about what makes Aryna Sabalenka such a strong opponent before their final matchup on Sunday.

Brad Gilbert believes Aryna Sabalenka’s return game sets her apart from the rest of the WTA Tour

Gilbert, who played a key role in Andre Agassi’s career, shared his thoughts on Aryna Sabalenka’s strengths ahead of the Indian Wells final.

Having also worked with Andy Murray and Andy Roddick, Gilbert pointed to Sabalenka’s return game as a standout area heading into Sunday’s championship match.

“I think what separates Sabalenka—besides her serve, the plus one— I think she has the best forehand in the women’s game… she can break serve”, Gilbert said.

“She had 10 break points, and she bludgeons second serves, so I feel like she gets early leads, and when she gets early leads, she then can take more shortcuts.

“She does a great job on the second serve stats, her own second serve, and she just goes after her opponent’s second serve.

Mark Petchey, the coach of Emma Raducanu, chimed in: “Yeah, with something like 60 per cent of second-serve points won today. It was a very high number.”

Gilbert wrapped up by saying: “60 per cent for a guy is a great number. 60 per cent for Aryna today is off the charts.”

How Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina stack up head-to-head

Sabalenka currently holds a narrow lead over Rybakina, with an 8-7 edge in their head-to-head meetings.

Their first meeting came back in 2019, with Sabalenka taking the win in a three-set battle at the Wuhan Open.

Rybakina will have another shot to pull even when they face off again at Indian Wells on Sunday.

So, when is the Indian Wells final scheduled to take place?

When does the Indian Wells final start?

If you’re tuning in from the UK, the match between Sabalenka and Rybakina is set to start at 6pm GMT.

Fans on the west coast of America can catch the action from 11am PST.

In Australia, viewers on the east coast can tune in at 4am AEST.

Conditions are expected to be hot when play begins. According to BBC Weather, temperatures should already be around 31 degrees Celsius by mid-morning, climbing as high as 35 degrees later in the day.

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