World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka Continues Dominant Outing in Indian Wells Open

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

World No. 1 female tennis player Aryna Sabalenka is currently on a tear after racking up her second straight sweeping victory in the ongoing BNP Paribas Indian Wells Open in California, United States.

On March 11, 2025, the three-time Grand Slam queen handed Italian ace Lucia Bronzetti a lopsided beating- 6.1, 6.2- to reach the Round of 16 stage of the major tennis tourney.

Fresh off a first-round win over home bet McCartney Kessler, Sabalenka picked up where she left off and replicated her stellar outing to maintain her undefeated campaign in Indian Wells.

However, Sabalenka was sharper with her offensive approach against Bronzetti, firing 64 total points won in just two sets.

Despite a lower ace percentage compared to her win against the American, Sabalenka made it up in the receiving department when she tallied 33 receiving points won.

The Belarusian stalwart went off to the races after hammering three consecutive down-the-line forehand bombs followed by a return smash on the wide side to secure the first set.

What also steered her to a flawless start was her on-point volley game, picking apart Bronzetti with a series of off-the-bounce drop shots from the no-man’s land.

Bronzetti attempted to disrupt Sabalenka’s groundstroke rhythm by targeting her backhand side, but the more experienced champion accepted the challenge and returned a barrage of top-spin winners. Upon hitting her third backhand point, the higher seed just smirked and drew loud cheers from the crowd.

In the final three set exchanges, Sabalenka put the icing on the cake with a serve-and-volley switch up that surprised Bronzetti who fumbled with her lob shot execution.

Sabalenka will head to the Round of 16 stage without dropping a single set in the tournament and will look to maintain her perfect set record tomorrow when she squares off against Sonay Kartal of the United Kingdom.

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