Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova 7-6 (2), 7-5 in 1 hour 53 minutes, and Mirra Andreeva won the last seven games to beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0, as the two seeds opened Group 2 at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells with wins.
Indian Wells, California: Two seeded players, two wins, and one meeting still to come. On Monday, Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva each opened their Group 2 campaigns with a victory, and they now face each other next, a pairing that carries the memory of the 2025 Indian Wells final, which Andreeva won. It follows a Group 1 opening day in which Coco Gauff and Linda Noskova won.
Sabalenka survives a tie-break test
Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, has lost two finals at this event, in 2022 and 2025, and is still chasing her first title. She needed 1 hour 53 minutes to beat Karolina Muchova 7-6 (2), 7-5. Muchova, making her debut after Marta Kostyuk’s retirement in Ningbo handed her the last qualifying place, twice led by a break in the first set, and Sabalenka broke back each time. Muchova went 5-4 up before Sabalenka broke again to level, and Sabalenka had set points she could not convert before the tie-break. Once there, she dropped only two points and took it 7-2.
The second set brought five service breaks. Sabalenka moved ahead, Muchova pulled her back and levelled at 5-5, and Sabalenka then broke for 6-5 and served the match out on her second match point. It was a hard-won opener against a player who reached the Wimbledon final this year and won titles in Doha and Bad Homburg.
Andreeva wins the last seven games
Andreeva, 19, the No. 3 seed and reigning French Open champion, was far more economical on her WTA Finals debut. She beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 in 70 minutes. A single break, helped by a Svitolina double fault, put her 3-2 ahead in the first set and proved enough to take it. From there she did not drop another game, winning the final seven games of the match.
Andreeva saved all six break points she faced, four of them in the final game. The win avenged her loss to Svitolina, the 2018 champion, at this year’s Australian Open and moved her ahead 2-1 in their head-to-head.
The group picture
Sabalenka and Andreeva lead Group 2 at 1-0, with Muchova and Svitolina at 0-1. Sabalenka leads her head-to-head with Andreeva 4-2, but Andreeva beat her in the 2025 Indian Wells final. Group 1 resumes on Tuesday with Gauff against Noskova and Pegula against Kostyuk. The top two in each group reach the semi-finals.
WTA Finals, Group 2, Indian Wells, Monday 9 November 2026: Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova 7-6 (2), 7-5 (1 hour 53 minutes). Mirra Andreeva beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 (70 minutes). Group 2 after round one: Sabalenka 1-0, Andreeva 1-0, Muchova 0-1, Svitolina 0-1.
