World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will face Victoria Mboko in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, a rematch of their Australian Open encounter. Meanwhile, qualifier Talia Gibson takes on Linda Noskova for a spot in the semifinals. These matches highlight the top half of the draw on Thursday.
The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells continues with quarterfinal action in the top half of the women's draw on Thursday. Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and a four-time Grand Slam champion, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 16 Naomi Osaka in the fourth round. She now faces No. 10 Victoria Mboko, a 19-year-old from Canada, in a rematch of their Round of 16 meeting at this year's Australian Open, where Sabalenka won 6-1, 7-6 (1).
Mboko reached the quarterfinals after a 6-4, 6-1 win over No. 6 Amanda Anisimova in 73 minutes. This marks Mboko's third WTA 1000 quarterfinal in seven appearances and her first as a Top 10 player. She has four wins over Top 10 opponents this year, matching Jessica Pegula's total. Reflecting on her Australian Open loss, Mboko said, “I feel like she was able to push me off the court a lot more and able to really stay aggressive against me. So hopefully I can hold my ground a bit more against her.”
Sabalenka has been dominant in 2026, winning 14 of 15 matches, including 14 straight-sets victories. Against Osaka, she won 70 percent of service points, hit eight aces, and committed zero double faults. Through three matches at Indian Wells, she has dropped only one of 27 service games. Sabalenka commented on her opponents, “I love that they [are] aggressive, I feel that both of them are fighters. It's been really aggressive tennis. It's been fun playing both. I'm super excited facing -- doesn't matter who's going to win the match.”
In the other quarterfinal, No. 14 Linda Noskova faces 21-year-old Australian qualifier Talia Gibson. Noskova advanced with a 6-2, 6-0 win over No. 31 Alexandra Eala, serving seven aces and winning 31 of 39 service points. Gibson, the first qualifier to reach the quarterfinals here since Lesia Tsurenko in 2015, has upset No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova, No. 17 Clara Tauson, and No. 7 Jasmine Paolini. Her path includes a 6-3, 7-5 first-round win over Ann Li, a 6-3, 7-5 second-round victory over Alexandrova, a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 third-round win over Tauson in 2 hours and 43 minutes, and a 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 fourth-round result over Paolini. Gibson has hit 144 winners, the most among women. After beating Paolini, she said, “Speechless. This is becoming more of a fairytale for me every single day.” On her performance, she added, “Yes and no. I think I know that with my aggressive game, often I am able to create a lot of opportunities for myself in points. But that being said, I think I have surprised myself a little bit with how well I have been able to play for quite a few matches in a row.”
One of these matches will produce the tournament's first semifinalist from the top half.
