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Mboko sees off Anisimova at Indian Wells to set up Sabalenka clash

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Clock Icon22 hoursTennis

Victoria Mboko dispatched Amanda Anisimova in clinical fashion to reach the last eight at Indian Wells.

The 19-year-old won 6-4 6-1 in just 73 minutes against the sixth seed and will now face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the next round.

There was little to separate the two players in the opening set, as Mboko converted the only break point opportunity on her way to taking the first.

And the teenager moved through the gears in the second, breaking Anisimova's serve in the first game of the set before saving a break point of her own soon after.

Mboko then closed out the victory with back-to-back breaks, clinching the win with her first match point as Anisimova returned long of the baseline.

Jasmine Paolini, meanwhile, was stunned by qualifier Talia Gibson, who won 7-5 2-6 6-1 in a two-hour thriller.

The 21-year-old will face Linda Noskova in what will be her first WTA quarter-final, while Gibson is also the first qualifier to reach the last eight at Indian Wells in 11 years.

Data Debrief: Mboko continues to shine in 2026

Since 2010, Mboko is the third teenager to reach the quarter-finals in women’s singles at Indian Wells in their very first appearance after Bianca Andreescu (2019) and Daria Kasatkina (2016).

The Canadian teenager has now won 16 matches in 2026, a total bettered only by Elina Svitolina (17), while Mboko has converted the most break points in WTA 1000 events this year (40).

Since 1990, Gibson is the first Australian to reach the quarter-final in her maiden Tier I/WTA-1000 main draw, and the youngest overall since Elena Rybakina in Wuhan in 2019.