Alcaraz against Medvedev, Sabalenka against Rybakina

This article is part of our tennis tips series.

The BNP Paribas Open women’s and men’s singles championship games will both be played on the hard courts of Indian Wells, California on Sunday. Two attacking-minded WTA stars will face off in a repeat of the Australian Open finals, followed by the first hard-court encounter between two of the world’s best players on the surface for a chance at a new No. 1 in the ATP rankings . All tennis odds and lines are from DraftKings Sportsbook, but you can sometimes find cheaper odds on some of these games by checking mobile sportsbooks like FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook or any of the other top sportsbooks. We offer exclusive sign-up bonuses for some of these sportsbooks, as well as special bonuses for users in Massachusetts, where online sportsbook has officially gone live.

All men’s and women’s matches at the BNP Paribas Open are best-of-three sets, which differs from the men’s Grand Slam match. A mix of players’ previous hard court results, their past form at Indian Wells and stylistic matchups can help create intriguing betting opportunities in both finals.

Indian Wells Odds: Sabalenka vs. Rybakina

Arina Sabalenka (-160) vs. Elena Rybakina (+130)

This is déjà vu from the Australian Open in January, when Rybakina once again lies between Iga Swiatek in straight sets en route to a hard-court final against Sabalenka. The Melbourne final went to Sabalenka, who claimed her first Grand Slam title with Rybakina’s overall. Sabalenka improved to 4-0 against Rybakina in her career, but all four of those encounters went over three sets.

While last year’s double-fault-prone version of Sabalenka would struggle to keep up with serving-powerful Rybakina, serving is again a tremendous strength for second-place Belarusian, helping Sabalenka start the year with a 17-1 record. Rybakina wasn’t too shabby herself at 15-4, and her 6-2, 6-2 semifinal win over Swiatek on Friday was arguably Rybakina’s best performance of 2023. Both Sabalenka and Rybakina proved they were more than capable are in a position to play their respective opponents effectively Brands of first-strike tennis on the slow hard courts of Indian Wells so each of them will be looking to get on the front foot early and often in rallies.

Indian Wells prediction: Sabalenka defeated. Rybakina 4-6, 7-6, 6-2

Indian Wells Odds: Alcaraz vs. Medvedev

Carlo Alcaraz (-110) vs. Daniel Medvedev (-110)

This is only the second meeting between these two great players and the first on hard courts. Medvedev easily won their only previous encounter at Wimbledon in 2021 but he will face a far more advanced Alcaraz here. The 19-year-old Spaniard has mowed down the competition at this tournament without dropping a set and Alcaraz would reclaim world No. 1 rankings from Novak Djokovic with a win on Sunday. While Medvedev hasn’t been quite as dominant over the past week, he has now won 19 straight games, showing the bonafides on the hard court that helped him take home the 2021 US Open title. Alcaraz’s only Grand Slam title up to that point came at the US Open the following year.

Both players have proven their respective playing styles can thrive at Indian Wells, which has some of the slowest hard courts of any venue on the tour. Expect lengthy exchanges in this game as these players showcase their ball recovery skills. While both boys can rely on big first serves to pick up cheap points when they need them, Alcaraz undoubtedly has the advantage when it comes to power from the ground, but he needs to figure out how to adapt to Medvedev’s unusually low and Getting used to flat shots can be difficult to replicate in practice and has confused most of the ATP Tour for the past few years.

Indian Wells prediction: Alcaraz defeated. Medvedev 7-6, 7-5