BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells 2026: Sonay Kartal to face Elena Rybakina in fourth round
• 2 minute read
Sonay Kartal is into the fourth round at Indian Wells for the second year in a row after defeating 15th seed Madison Keys in three sets.
British No.2 Kartal knocked out the former Australian Open champion 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 58 minutes to set up a fourth round meeting against world No.3 Elena Rybakina. It will mark the first time Kartal has played a two-time Grand Slam champion in her career.
Kartal’s victory over the 15th seed also makes her the first British woman to reach the fourth round at Indian Wells on more than one occasion.
“As a player, you have favourite tournaments throughout the year,” Kartal said following her win.
“I’ve said in all these interviews that this is an event that I really look forward to coming back to. There are a lot of similarities to being at home with the conditions, and I think these courts really suit my game and enhance my game.
“When you’re happy in the environment, that can translate onto the match court”
The former Grand Slam champion looked the stronger player in the opening set, with the American reeling off four consecutive games from 2-2 to take control and move a set ahead.
However, the momentum soon swung as the British No.2 raised her intensity in the second set, edging into an early 2-0 lead.
The 24-year-old made her biggest adjustment behind serve. Kartal won 71% of points on her first serve (10/14) in the second set, compared with 60% (13/26) in the opener - allowing her to string together a comfortable run of service holds and level the match.
In a tense deciding set, with plenty at stake, neither player offered much on return until the seventh game. A backhand pass earned Kartal her third break point of the game, and a fortunate net cord that Keys could not retrieve handed the Brit the decisive breakthrough.
The world No.54 showed no sign of nerves when serving for the match as she saw out a spot in the fourth round with a hold to love as Keys pushed a forehand wide.
Her fourth round match will mark a career-first meeting between Kartal and Rybakina, with the Brit aiming to reach her second WTA 1000 quarter-final of her career - following her run to the final eight at the China Open last year.
Earlier in the day Cam Norrie knocked out sixth seed Alex de Minuar in one of the upsets of the tournament so far, while defending champion Jack Draper beat 19th seed Francisco Cerundolo.
