Quick Win for Women's Top

INDIAN WELLS, SUNDAY—It didn't take long for Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula to win the third round of the Indian Wells WTA 1000 tennis tournament. They are the top two seeds in the bottom half of the draw who still have a chance to win the title.

Swiatek, who was the second seed, defeated Dayana Yastremska with a score of 6-0, 6-2 on Court 1 of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, United States, Sunday (9/3/2025) in one hour and six minutes. On court 2, Pegula (4) won over Wang Xin Yu 6-2, 6-1 in a match that was four minutes faster.

Elena Rybakina (7) also won in slightly slower time than Swiatek and Pegula. The 2023 WTA Indian Wells champion played for one hour and 16 minutes to beat Katie Boulter 6-0, 7-5.

Like Rybakina, Swiatek is still on track to win Indian Wells more than once. The Pole could even become the first player to win the WTA Indian Wells title three times since the tournament was founded in 1989. Swiatek won in 2022 and 2024.

My style of play is suited to this course, but that's not the only factor. There are many other things that have to go right to win.

The “bagel” score, 6-0, in beating Yastremska was the second after Swiatek won 6-2, 6-0 over Caroline Garcia in the first round. Swiatek also made it 6-0 when she beat Yastremska at the WTA 1000 Dubai in February, 7-5, 6-0.

Yastremska was the victim of Swiatek's aggressive groundstrokes. She was comfortable on the hard courts of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, which bounce the ball quite high. With such bounce, other players even compared the surface to clay, a surface type that Swiatek excels at.

So playing at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden is more about the spin on the ball than the speed. And Swiatek is adept at hitting topspin, which makes the ball spin so fast that it is difficult for opponents to return it properly.

"My style of play suits this surface, but that's not the only factor. There are a lot of things that have to go right to win," said Swiatek, who will face Karolina Muchova in the fourth round.

Swiatek's suitability for the desert venue has resulted in a 90.9 percent winning percentage, a record of 20 wins and two losses before her 2025 appearance. Of those 20 wins, 17 have come in straight sets.

For Pegula, the match against Elina Svitolina was her third fourth round appearance after reaching the same round in 2023 and the quarterfinals two years earlier. Despite playing in her home country, Pegula was not comfortable playing in Indian Wells. She preferred to compete at WTA Miami with its faster courts.

Meanwhile, after beating Boultier, Rybakina will face Mirra Andreeva. Andreeva, 17, caused a surprise when she won the WTA 1000 Dubai in February, defeating Clara Tauson in the final.

In men's singles, at the ATP Masters 1000 level, wins in the third round were achieved by several top seeds, such as Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Tommy Paul, and Holger Rune.

In the women's doubles competition, Aldila Sutjiadi's progress was stopped in the second round. The Indonesian tennis player who paired with Fanny Stollar (Hungary) lost to Tereza Mihalikova/Olivia Nicholls (Slovakia/England) with a score of 1-6, 6-4, 2-10. Before undergoing the third set, Stollar underwent medical treatment on her waist.

WTA Indian Wells will be Aldila's first tournament in 2025. She postponed her appearance due to health problems since December 2024. Aldila had to undergo treatment, one of which was therapy, to cure her sudden deafness.

The condition caused him to lose his balance, making it impossible to return to the tennis court as planned. Now, his balance has been restored, although his hearing is still slightly impaired. (AFP)