Aryna Sabalenka opened her bid for a first Indian Wells title by beating Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume 6-4, 6-2 on Friday, stepping onto court at the BNP Paribas Open with her new engagement ring on full display.
The world No. 1 had not played since losing the Australian Open final to Elena Rybakina last month. Against the 136th-ranked qualifier, who came through qualifying, Sabalenka showed early signs of rust in the windy conditions but found her rhythm to close out the match in 70 minutes.
Sabalenka never took off the ring given to her on Tuesday by Brazilian businessman Georgios Frangulis during a proposal at the venue locals call Tennis Paradise. “It surprised me, even though in some way I already knew,” she said. “I had a feeling it was going to happen here. But even so, he still managed to surprise me. It was a special moment.”
“The ring is very comfortable,” she added. “We checked twice to see whether there was any chance of losing the diamond, and there isn’t, so I felt pretty safe wearing this ring. It shines a lot. I hope my opponent gets distracted by this diamond and that works in my favor.”
The win marked Sabalenka’s 100th match as world No. 1. She has reached the Indian Wells final twice before, falling to Rybakina in 2023 and to Mirra Andreeva last year. With the title still missing from her collection of hard-court honors, she will next face Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner made an equally strong start on his return to the Coachella Valley. The world No. 2 needed just 64 minutes to dismiss Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina 6-1, 6-1. Sinner missed last year’s tournament while serving a suspension after testing positive for clostebol at the same venue a year earlier. In his two previous appearances here, he lost in the semifinals to Carlos Alcaraz.
“It feels incredible. It’s a tournament I missed last year,” Sinner said. “This tournament and Miami are very important to me.” The draw has kept him on course to potentially meet Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic only in the final. He will face Canada’s Denis Shapovalov next.
American Coco Gauff, the fourth seed, had to work harder. She recovered from a 5-2 deficit in the second set to beat Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in windy conditions and reach the third round for the sixth time.
Colombia’s Camila Osorio produced the day’s most dramatic comeback. The 24-year-old from Cúcuta dropped the first set 4-6 to 18-year-old American Iva Jovic but saved three match points in the second-set tiebreak before winning 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. It was Osorio’s first time reaching the third round at Indian Wells. She will now face Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who advanced with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Andorra’s Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva.
Osorio already beat Osaka here last year during the four-time Grand Slam champion’s return from injury. That result adds extra intrigue to their upcoming matchup.
On the men’s side, fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti became the first major name to exit. The Italian, playing his first match since the Australian Open, lost 7-5, 6-1 to Hungary’s Márton Fucsovics.
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev handled Italy’s Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-4 with no break points faced. Argentina’s representatives had less success. Camilo Ugo Carabelli fell to American Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-4, while Tomás Etcheverry lost a tight three-setter to Shapovalov 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5).
Sabalenka and Sinner now move into the weekend with clear momentum at one of the season’s biggest hard-court events. For both, the path to a first Indian Wells crown runs through a stacked field, but their opening performances sent a strong message.
