The 6-2 score in the final set of Elena Rybakina’s win over American Hailey Baptiste might lead you to believe things went as expected for the third-seeded Rybakina.
That was far from the reality.
Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open champion, struggled with her own game and the determined Baptiste in the first two sets before winning 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-2 on Stadium 1 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Rybakina, the 2023 BNP Paribas Open winner, fought both her serve and her groundstrokes in a match that could easily have turned to Baptiste in the first set.
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“Difficult first match. Hailey played really well,” Rybakina said. “She served good. Yeah, it was not easy. Also a little bit tricky with the wind, but overall happy of course with the win.”
With Rybakina serving down 6-5 in the first set, Baptiste held three consecutive set points. But Rybakina somehow fought off all three of those points and won the game, forcing a tiebreaker that Rybakina won 7-5.
Rybakina said it was more than just Baptiste’s strong play that hurt the No. 3 seed in the match.
“I was a little bit rushing on the serve since it was windy. So I was just trying to play point at a time and not focus so much on the score, because in these conditions, anything can change quickly,” she said. “Yeah, it’s slow courts, quite heavy balls. It’s not easy to move them.”
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Rather than being deflated by the first-set loss, Baptiste, the 24-year-old ranked 43rd in the world, seemed actually energized in the second set. After splitting the first four games of the set on serve, Baptiste broke a visibly frustrated Raybakina for a 3-2 lead and won the next three games to force the third set. Rybakina admitted her own energy level dropped in the set.
“As I said, she was serving well, and her second serve is quite tough to step in. Sometimes it was bouncing really high and also, again, the wind, you had to adjust quickly,” Rybakina said. “So, yeah, she has a pretty good forehand, good slice, and I was trying to move a little bit the ball, but with the conditions, it was not easy.”
Rybakina broke Baptiste’s serve for a 3-1 lead and never looked back despite more strong play from Baptiste to advance to the third round.
The match continued what has been an uneven year for Rybakina, whose No. 3 ranking is the highest in her career. While she won the Australian Open in a three-set final against No. 1 Aryna Salalenka for her second career Grand Slam title, Rybakina has not been beyond the quarterfinals in her three other tournament starts in 2026.
Elena Rybakina takes a photograph with a fan during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
Part of Rybakina’s problem Saturday was her serving. Hitting 82 percent of her serves early in the first set she finished the day with just a 64.7 first-serve percentage for the game, while being broken in consecutive games in the second set.
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Rybakina knows she’ll need to improve the level of her game is she wants a second BNP Paribas title in four years.
“It was a bit better, but still, I would say that it’s not my best,” she said. “I should have found a solution quicker, whenever I had the opportunity when I was up. Yeah, some decisions also were a bit wrong. Something for me to definitely work on.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rybakina battles past Baptiste in three sets at BNP Paribas Open
