March 11, 2026; Indian Wells, California, USA; Iga Swiatek (POL) shakes hands with Karolina Muchova (CZE) after the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Image Second-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland will be hoping to continue his even winning streak at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
Swiatek won the Desert in 2022 and 2024 and advanced to this year’s quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Czech Republic’s No. 13 Karolina Muchova 6-2, 6-0 on Wednesday at the California Heat.
The six-time Grand Slam champion split her first four matches with Muchova and their last 10 matches. The first service break was the most difficult as 16 points had to be scored.
Swiatek controlled most points with his powerful forehand.
“I always want to be active with my forehand because it gives me points,” Swiatek said. “I think I chose the right ball to go forward or sit back and hone it a little more and play with more shape. My decision-making was good today so I wasn’t rushed and I had a comfortable situation where I could do what I wanted.”
The Polish star excelled on serve, hitting 74% of her first serves and winning 23 of 29 points.
Swiatek will meet ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
In another fourth round match, 5th seed Jessica Pegula defeated Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) 6-3, 7-6(5). Bencic had won eight sets of his previous four matches against Pegula, but had not played since 2023.
Pegula entered the game at 5-4 but fell in a five-point game. Nine serves were lost in the tiebreaker, but the American won after misfiring two match points on his racket.
“I’m really happy today because we were able to turn around a pretty poor record against Belinda,” Pegula said. “So, when you can figure it out and get over that hump, it’s always a good feeling. I was just excited that I was able to take that challenge and figure it out.”
Pegula helped her cause with four service aces and just three double faults in each set.
Two unseeded players were forced out of Wednesday’s remaining two fourth-round games. Svitolina won 6-1, 1-1 after Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova was sidelined with a right hip injury. Britain’s Sonay Kartal failed to overcome third seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-4, 4-3 (ret.).
Pegula faces Rivakina in the second half of the quarterfinals on Thursday.
–Field level media
