Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner win 2026 Indian Wells

Aryna Sabalenka (Google Images)

The first Masters 1000 series of the 2026 tennis season that included men and women is now complete and we now know who the champions are. On the women’s side, the champion is Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, and on the men’s side, the champion is Jannik Sinner of Italy.

Sabalenka, the number one seed, beat Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the third seed, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 in a rematch of the 2026 Australian Open final, which Rybakina won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. This was Sabalenka’s 23rd WTA title and first at Indian Wells. It was also Sabalenka’s 10th title on the WTA Tour in the Masters 1000 series. In the third set tiebreak on Sunday, Sabalenka won 8-6.

This will be a memorable Indian Wells Tournament for Sabalenka. That is because before Indian Wells even started, she got engaged to Brazilian entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis.

In addition to beating Rybakina, Sabalenka beat three formidable opponents at Indian Wells. She defeated four-time grand slam champion and 16th seed Naomi Osaka of Japan in the fourth round (6-2, 6-4), the 10th seed Victoria Mboko of Canada, 7-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals,  and the 14th seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals. Osaka’s grand slam titles came at the 2018 and 2020 United States Open and 2019 and 2021 Australian Open. 

Sinner, the world number two, defeated the 11th seed, Daniil Medvedev of Russia 7-6, 7-6. Most expected it to be a Sinner/Carlos Alcaraz final, but Medvedev beat Alcaraz 6-3, 7-6 in the semifinals. In the final, Sinner had the service advantage as he had 10 aces compared to seven for Medvedev. Like Sabalenka, this was Sinner’s first Indian Wells title.