The 2026 Indian Wells Masters will be spoken about for years — the tournament where Jannik Sinner completed the hard-court Grand Slam and Aryna Sabalenka ended the most frustrating losing run of her career. Both champions wrote new and significant chapters in their personal tennis stories.
Sinner’s 7-6(6), 7-6(4) victory over Daniil Medvedev was the culmination of a career that, at 24, has already produced titles at the Australian Open, US Open, ATP Finals, and now all six Masters 1000 events. The Italian did not drop a set in two weeks and did not face a break point in the final.
Medvedev’s performance ensured the final was a worthy occasion for such an achievement. His aggressive, precise game pushed Sinner harder than any previous opponent in the fortnight, and his 4-0 lead in the second tiebreak gave the match its most dramatic twist.
Sinner’s response — seven consecutive points from 4-0 down — was a defining moment that summed up his genius. In the most pressurised scenario, against a top opponent, in a major final, he produced flawless tennis. It was a sequence that will define the 2026 Indian Wells Masters in the memory of everyone who witnessed it.
Sabalenka’s chapter was written in equal measure of joy and relief. Ending four consecutive final losses to Rybakina with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) victory — saving a match point in the final tiebreak — and then celebrating with her fiance and new puppy courtside: Indian Wells 2026 was her perfect week. It was, she said, one she will remember for the rest of her life.
Indian Wells Finale Writes New Chapters for Sinner, Sabalenka and Tennis
