Sabalenka to face teen Andreeva in Indian Wells final

Aryna Sabalenka reacts at match point as she defeated Madison Keys (not pictured) in the semifinal match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Well Tennis Garden. (Reuters)
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Updated 15 March 2025
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Sabalenka to face teen Andreeva in Indian Wells final

  • The misfiring Keys finally held serve for 5-1 in the second, but minutes later Sabalenka sealed the win

INDIAN WELLS: Aryna Sabalenka avenged her Australian Open loss to Madison Keys, thrashing the American 6-0, 6-1 to book an Indian Wells title showdown with teen sensation Mirra Andreeva.

Red-hot Russian 17-year-old Andreeva showed plenty of poise in a 7-6 (7/1), 1-6, 6-3 victory over defending champion Iga Swiatek, ending the second-ranked Pole’s bid to become the first woman to win three titles in the California desert.

“I was hungry,” said Sabalenka, who had made no bones about wanting revenge after Keys denied her bid for a third straight Australian Open title in January.

“That Australian Open match was really heartbroken for me, and I really needed some time to recover after that.

“And if I would lose today again, it would get in my head and I didn’t want that to happen. I was really focused — I was just really hungry to get this win against Madison.”

Keys, who was riding a 16-match winning streak, couldn’t get a foot in the door.

Sabalenka was untroubled by the cold, swirling wind on Stadium Court as she won the first 11 games.

“I think tactically I played really great tennis,” said Sabalenka, adding her strategy was to “just keep her out of the rhythm.”

The misfiring Keys finally held serve for 5-1 in the second, but minutes later Sabalenka sealed the win and lined up a shot at the WTA tour’s newest sensation Andreeva in what 26-year-old Sabalenka quipped would be “kind of like an old mama playing against a kid.”

Andreeva beat Swiatek for the second time in as many tournaments, having stunned the Polish star in the quarter-finals at Dubai last month on the way to becoming the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion.

Swiatek, who hadn’t dropped a set in winning 10 straight Indian Wells matches, looked supremely confident as she dropped just one point in her first three service games.

But it was Andreeva who claimed the first break of the tense first set for a 5-4 lead.

After Swiatek broke back and they reached the tiebreaker, Andreeva seized control, opening with a blistering backhand winner and pocketing the set on her first opportunity as Swiatek sent a backhand wide.

“I felt like I’m gonna go and play the tiebreak like it’s the last tiebreak of my life,” she said. “So I just went for all my shots. My serve was great. I just felt super comfortable and confident,” she said.

Swiatek put her frustrations aside and broke Andreeva to open the second set, breaking her twice more as the Russian’s errors multiplied under pressure from her opponent.

“The second set, it was a bit weird,” Andreeva said. “I just felt like she literally overplayed me, because she was playing pretty deep with good height over the net. It was really hard to do something with these shots.”

The roles reversed again, however, when Andreeva stepped up her attack and broke Swiatek to open the third, and she sealed the win with her third break of the set.

“I just decided to kind of still play the same but maybe go for my shots more, trying to play a little bit more aggressive,” she said.

“I feel also that I was dealing with the nerves and the pressure pretty good, so I just feel proud of myself.”


Ravaglia heroics lead Bologna to Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh

Updated 20 December 2025
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Ravaglia heroics lead Bologna to Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh

  • Despite falling behind early, Bologna equalized in the 34th minute before prevailing on penalties

RIYADH: It was a night of shared football culture in Riyadh as Inter Milan and Bologna met in the second 2025/26 Italian Super Cup semi-final. The travelling Inter support brought their drums, colour and constant noise, blending with Saudi Inter fans to create a lively atmosphere inside the stadium.

The match began at a blistering pace, with Inter taking the lead less than two minutes after kick-off. Marcus Thuram powered home from close range after meeting an accurate cross from Alessandro Bastoni to score the opening goal of the night.

Inter immediately searched for a second, with Ange-Yoan Bonny going close in the fourth minute, feinting past Torbjorn Heggem before dragging his effort just wide of the post.

After Inter’s early barrage, Bologna began to grow into the contest, with Jens Odgaard leading much of the offence. Goalkeeper Josep Martinez was called into action to preserve Inter’s advantage.

The energy among Inter supporters continued to build, with fans jumping in unison and lifting their scarves as they urged their side forward in search of a second goal.

That momentum was checked in the 34th minute, when a VAR review resulted in a penalty for Bologna. Riccardo Orsolini slotted the spot-kick coolly past Martinez to bring I Rossoblu back level.

Inter pushed forward after the break as the game opened up, but there was no getting past Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia, who made four saves in the second half alone.

Hope briefly returned for the Nerazzurri when Bonny was brought down in the box in the 56th minute, only for the initial appeal for a penalty to be overturned following consultation with VAR.

Less than 10 minutes later, the stadium rose to welcome Lautaro Martinez. Brought on alongside Andy Diouf and Davide Frattesi in a triple substitution, Lautaro made an immediate impact but was unable to find the decisive goal before the end of regular time.

Bologna came within moments of snatching a winner in injury time, but goalkeeper Martinez reacted sharply to make a crucial save, sending the semi-final into a penalty shootout.

The shootout began evenly, with both sides converting their penalties before goalkeepers intervened at either end. Nicolo Barella then fired over the crossbar, only for Juan Miranda to mirror the miss moments later.

Inter’s struggles from the spot continued as Ravaglia made his second save of the shootout, before Jonathan Rowe gave Bologna the advantage. Stefan de Vrij converted to extend the contest, but Ciro Immobile struck decisively to send Bologna through.

The Rossoblu will now face Napoli in the Italian Super Cup final at Al-Awwal Park on December 22, after the Serie A champions defeated AC Milan 2-0 in the first semi-final.