INDIAN WELLS — It’s the tournament run World No. 14 Linda Noskova has been looking for this season on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.
Indian Wells: Scores | Draws | Order of play
Following a 2025 Asian swing that saw her reach finals in Tokyo and Beijing, the Czech had not advanced past the Round of 16 in any event in 2026. But now, following a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win over Australian qualifier Talia Gibson, Noskova is into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open, the furthest she’s advanced in any of her four appearances at Indian Wells. It marks her second WTA 1000 semifinal, with her first coming in Beijing five months ago.
Noskova will next face World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Victoria Mboko in straight sets to reach her third Indian Wells semifinal. Sabalenka won their lone meeting 6-3, 7-6 (4) at the 2023 Adelaide International final.
Based on the first set alone, the match felt it was going to be a straight sets win for Czech. Noskova strategically targeted Gibson’s forehand frequently, and complemented with her solid service game, Gibson hit several errors into the net and could not initially find the pace on the ball to get over the net. Noskova struck first with a break to lead 3-1 as Gibson’s forehand went wide.
Following a Noskova hold at love, she scored a second break at 5-1 in the deuce following a mishit forehand by Gibson, and though Gibson broke Noskova the next game, the young Aussie double faulted to lose the set in the deuce after saving three break points.
Then, the pendulum shifted in Gibson’s favor, and it seemed Noskova slightly took her foot off the gas in the second. Aside from a Gibson first game break — the second-set difference maker — the set was a service clinic as each held the rest of the way. It was only fitting the last game in the set that Gibson held serve at love with three aces. Thursday, Noskova finished with 13 aces and 10 double faults while her counterpart notched nine aces and five double faults — 15 of the 22 combined aces came in the second set.
Throughout the match, it seemed Gibson’s movement to chase returns was slightly slower than previous matches. The 21-year-old had an incredible run from qualifying to the quarterfinals that included her first top 20 wins, but it was evident that fatigue was starting to hit.
Noskova refound her groove in the third set, and her two breaks of serve in third proved pivotal. She had five breaks on the day, all in each of the sets she won. She opened the third set with a hold at love, and after creating a double break-point opportunity, Noskova hit an incredible forehand winner that just grazed the line. The set followed the same pattern as the second with each trading holds, up until the final game, where a tired Gibson was broken at love.
Still, the run at Indian Wells for Gibson is memorable. She came into the year with a goal to crack the top 100. Sitting at No. 112 entering the tournament, she’s projected to be in the top 70, shattering her objective. But Thursday belonged to Noskova, who reached her 11th overall WTA semifinal.
More to come…
