INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- The final is set at the BNP Paribas Open, where World No.1 Iga Swiatek will face No.9 Maria Sakkari for the title on Sunday.
It will be a rematch of the 2022 final, which saw Swiatek win 6-4, 6-1 to capture her first Indian Wells title.Β
Here's what you need to know about Championship Sunday:
When is the singles final?Β
The final will be played on Sunday, March 17 at 11 a.m.
The local time in Indian Wells, California is Pacific Daylight Time (GMT-7).
What are the points and prize money at stake?
Indian Wells is the third WTA 1000 tournament of the season. By making the final, Swiatek and Sakkari have assured themselves 650 ranking points and $585,000 in prize money.Β
A win on Sunday would give the winner a total take of 1,000 points and $1.1 million dollars.
How did Swiatek and Sakkari get here?
Blink and you'd have missed Swiatek's five wins. The World No.1 has been efficient, losing 17 games, the fewest en route to the final in 23 years.Β
To make her 10th WTA 1000 final and second of the season, Swiatek defeated Danielle Collins, Linda Noskova, Yulia Putintseva, Caroline Wozniacki and Marta Kostyuk without losing a set. In the 10 sets she's played, Swiatek lost more than two games in only three. She's spent 5 hours and 23 minutes on court.Β
Swiatek has now reached the final in 37% of her WTA 1000 main-draw appearances, surpassing Serena Williams (36.7%) for the highest such rate of any player since the formatβs inception in 2009. She is one of only two players to hold a winning percentage of 80% or higher (80.6%) at WTA 1000 events along with Serena (84.1%).Β
20 - In the last five years, Iga Swiatek (35) and Maria Sakkari (20) are the only two players with 20+ top-10 wins. Duo.#TennisParadise | @BNPPARIBASOPEN @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/umzxA2Up2o
β OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 16, 2024
While Indian Wells has been business as usual for Swiatek, Sakkari's fortnight has been anything but. She came into the tournament with a new coach in David Witt and has proceeded to rack up as many wins as she had all season coming in. In fact, this is the first time Sakkari has won five matches in a row since her title run at Guadalajara last fall.Β
Sakkari has had to go the distance in four of her five matches. She came from a set down to defeat Diana Shnaider in her opener, held off Diane Parry in the Round of 16, came from a set down against Emma Navarro in the quarterfinals and earned her first Top 3 win since 2022 in the semifinals when she beat Coco Gauff. Her sole straight-sets win came over Caroline Garcia in the third round.Β
How do they stack up?
Sakkari and Swiatek are set to face off for the sixth time. Sakkari leads the head-to-head series 3-2 but Swiatek has won their past two meetings in straight sets. This is the first time they've played each other since the 2022 final.Β
3 - Iga Swiatek - Maria Sakkari is the third final played multiple times in Indian Wells (2022 and 2024) after Martina Hingis - Lindsay Davenport (1998 and 2000) and Kim Clijsters - Lindsay Davenport (2003 and 2005). DΓ©jΓ -vu.#TennisParadise | @BNPPARIBASOPEN @WTA @WTA_insider
β OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 16, 2024
What milestones are at stake on Saturday?
Swiatek is bidding to win her 19th career title, second Indian Wells title and second title of the season. Into her 10th WTA 1000 final, she is looking to capture her eighth WTA 1000 title. If she does so, she will tie Maria Sharapova for the fifth most since the formatβs introduction in 2009. Serena has won the most WTA-1000 events with 13.
A win would move Swiatek's win percentage at Indian Wells to 90%, surpassing Stefanie Graff (89.5%) for the highest win rate of any player since the women's singles event's inception in 1989 (minimum 15 matches). She would also become the first No.1 seed to win the tournament since Victoria Azarenka in 2012.
37 - Defeating Marta Kostyuk, Iga Swiatek (10/27) has now made the final in 37% of WTA-1000 main draws entered, surpassing Serena Williams (36.7%) for the highest rate since the format's start in 2009. Leader.#TennisParadise | @BNPPARIBASOPEN @iga_swiatek @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/IB3D1v1WeL
β OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 16, 2024
If Swiatek wins, she will have won 29.6% of the WTA 1000 tournaments she has played, the highest of any player since the formatβs introduction in 2009. Serena would be the next best at 26.5%.
With a win over No.9 Sakkari, Swiatek will improve to 36-14 against Top 10 opponents. She would surpass Monica Seles for the most Top 10 wins in their first 50 such matches in the past four decades. Seles won 35 of her first 50 matches against Top 10 opposition.Β
7 - In the last three seasons, only Iga Swiatek (13) has made more WTA-1000 semi-finals than Maria Sakkari (seven, equalling Jessica Pegula). Standard.#TennisParadise | @BNPPARIBASOPEN @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/aM9owHCGXP
β OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 15, 2024
Into her fourth WTA 1000 final, Sakkari is bidding to win her third career title and second WTA 1000 (2023 Guadalajara).
Sakkari is one of only four players to have faced Swiatek multiple times and hold a winning record, along with Ashleigh Barty (2-0), Elena Rybakina (3-2) and Jelena Ostapenko (4-0).
Sakkari is looking to tally her first win over a reigning World No.1. She could become the first Greek player in the past four decades to do so, snapping an 0-9 drought.Β
What are they saying?
Swiatek: "I wouldn't say those thoughts [about winning the title] don't come up, because they do. The main question is what are you going to do with that? If you're going to really focus on it or you're really going to take it step by step and remember that you still have work to do. So I think I'm pretty good at, you know, doing this second thing."
Swiatek: "I think [the semifinal] was the cleanest match I played here. The focus level was high throughout the whole match and I didn't have any doubts. so I'm happy with the performance."
Sakkari: "It's actually pretty crazy that last time we played was two years ago. I would say we are very different two years ago both of us. That's when her streak started, or a few weeks before that.
She is π’π§ππ―π’ππππ₯π.@iga_swiatek reaches a 10th WTA 1000 final πβοΈ#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/iryl8Bikw2
β wta (@WTA) March 16, 2024
"Having that lead [in the head-to-head] doesn't really mean anything, because she's the best player right now in the world. I'm just going to try and keep that lead and stay two wins ahead of her, but it's just going to be very, very tricky."
Sakkari: "We always say in tennis one day can change everything, but a month ago I was in Abu Dhabi, I couldn't hit a ball over the net, and now I'm just here in one of the biggest tournaments playing another final. Those are lessons and those are things that you have to just accept the more you're on the tour that you're going to have some bad times, and then things can really change in a week.
"I'm just very happy that this has been the week that things have started changing, because you know how much I love this place, and I told myself that I want to stay here as long as I can, and here we are, staying until Sunday."
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