Indian Wells 2026 tennis: Victoria Mboko to take on Aryna Sabalenka in quarter

Canadian tennis sensation Victoria Mboko will meet four-time Grand Slam winner Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals of Indian Wells Open on Thursday (12 March).

The 19-year-old set up the meeting with the world number one after dispatching Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 event, 6-4, 6-1, on Tuesday (10 March).

Mboko needed only 73 minutes to see off the No.6 seed and become the first player from her country to reach the last eight in the women's singles event since Bianca Andreescu, who went on to win in 2019.

“I’m experiencing a lot of things for the first time,” Mboko said in her on-court interview, after the win. “To be out here playing Top 10 players, playing top of the world, it’s really a privilege. I’m so happy to be competing at the highest level.

"Just keep going.”

Mboko's victory over Anisimova marks her third in a row over a top 10 player, and it is a statistic that might prove timely given her next opponent at the event in the US.

The world No.1 Sabalenka defeated Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4, in 80 minutes, to book her place in the quarters.

Mboko and Sabalenka crossed paths for the first time earlier this year in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open. There, the two-time champion prevailed, besting the Canadian 6-1, 7-6(1).

The order of play for the quarter-finals day can be found here.

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