Ladies and gentlemen, we finally may have a proper rivalry in place in the women’s game!

Rybakina had been close to beating Sabalenka in their previous four meetings, but it was not to be. At Indian Wells, Rybakina finally broke through in stunning fashion, beating the Australian Open champ in two sets, while displaying a varied game full of ideas and power. Now that she’s got the monkey off her back, it may very well be that this will be a nice strong rivalry. The WTA needs a rivalry like this. Now we just need Iga to get into this Rybakina/Sabalenka mix. And in many ways, she already is.

Swiatek was beaten pretty routinely by Rybakina at Indian Wells and at the Australian Open and has posted just one win against Rybakina. In the case of Sabalenka, Swiatek has been more consistent and holds a 4-2 edge. Both of Sabalenka’s wins have come at the WTA finals. In order for this to be a true Nadal/Federer/Djokovic type rivalry, Swiatek needs to do better against Rybakina, who is now showing she’s a big-time player.

Here are some observations from the tournament:

Under the tutelage of Thomas Johansson, Sorana Cristea is playing some fantastic tennis. This year she’s posted some big wins, beating Haddad Maia at Dubai, and making a run at the Indian Wells quarters taking out Madison Keys and Caroline Garcia along the way. She could have a fantastic year if she keeps playing this well.

Raducanu had a decent showing at Indian Wells, winning three matches along the way before being utterly destroyed by Swiatek. She will now play Andreescu in the opening round of the Miami Open. She will need to continue posting consistent results if she wants to get back to the top. Drawing players like Andreescu in the first round won’t help her cause though.

The match of the tournament had to have been Petra Kvitova vs. Jessica Pegula. It went to the wire, with Petra ultimately winning, and saving multiple match points along the way.

The ladies now head over to Miami where Iga Swiatek will once again be the top seed, while Sabalenka will be the second seed. Rybakina is seeded 10th and is once again in Swiatek’s side of the draw. Indian Wells may very well be a repeat of Indian Wells! Bring on the Miami Vibes.

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