The quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells are in the books, and it’s time for the last fours to slug it out in California’s Coachella Valley.
Here are the matches and players that have stood out, some things tennis fans may have missed, and what to look out for as the tournament heads into its concluding weekend.
A change at the top of the WTA Tour rankings
Elena Rybakina’s prize for beating Jessica Pegula 6-1, 7-6(4) on Thursday was twofold: She earned a spot in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open for the first time since she won the title here in 2023 and also secured a career-high ranking.
Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open champion, will move up a spot and, for the first time, rise to world No. 2 come Monday.
She takes over that position from Iga Świątek, after Elina Svitolina beat her, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, in a quarterfinal that so frustrated the 24-year-old Pole that she was exchanging shouts with her team as the defeat unfolded.
Svitolina-Świątek pitted hot streak against hot streak. Świątek entered the match with a 23-2 record in the California desert since 2022 and had been rolling in this tournament, dictating matches with ease. But no player has won more in these early weeks of 2026 than Svitolina, who took advantage of the court’s faster pace due to Thursday’s 95F (35C) heat and improved to 19-3 on the season. Both players found controlling the ball difficult. Svitolina just did it better.
“It’s not only against (Świątek), but I think just generally trying to be more aggressive, trying to go for my shots,” the No. 9 seed, who takes on Rybakina next, said in her news conference.
“There is no champion who is waiting for the mistakes, and you have to really try to set yourself up in a good position to attack.”
Rybakina was in attack mode all match against Pegula, winning 75 percent of points on her first serve. With Aryna Sabalenka facing No. 14 seed Linda Nosková in Friday’s other semifinal, a rematch of January’s Australian Open final is still in play.
First though, Rybakina has to get past Svitolina.