Start Time: Not before 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 15

This Indian Wells final is as much about recent form as it is about a long-running rivalry. Sinner carried a persistent problem early in the matchup: from 2020 through the 2023 Miami final, Medvedev won their first six meetings. When Sinner finally broke through against him in the 2023 Beijing final, something clicked. A month later, he would go on to beat Novak Djokovic for the first time. Two months after that, he would beat Djokovic and Medvedev back to back to win his first major title, at the Australian Open.

After losing his first six matches to him, Sinner has won eight of the last nine. That run peaked in the 2024 Australian Open final, which Medvedev led two sets to love, and it helped send Sinner on a path to No. 1. Medvedev, by contrast, experienced a gradual decline that finished with him out of the Top 10 and split from his long-time coach by the end of 2025.

Medvedev has returned to strong form in 2026. He has a new coach, two titles this year and a 10-match winning streak, capped by a high-profile victory over Carlos Alcaraz. Medvedev described his own level this week: “I feel like I’m playing great, very good tennis,” Medvedev says. “I never want to jump into conclusions like best tennis of my life or whatever. I’m playing very good.” He also emphasised his confidence and willingness to dictate points: “Right now, I’m in confidence and when I’m in confidence, I always said I feel like I’m an aggressive player, especially on my serve,” Medvedev says. “It’s a bit different on the return. But even on the return, whenever I get the opportunity with one great return, and today was the same, I tried to dictate.”

Sinner remains the player who reached No. 1 and who has dominated this pairing recently. “He’s been, in the past, a player who made me improve a lot,” Sinner says of Medvedev. The match-up promises an intriguing contrast: Sinner’s superior ground-stroke pace versus Medvedev’s renewed aggression and depth. That combination sets up an excellent final.

Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova claimed the women’s doubles crown at the BNP Paribas Open, with Townsend dedicating the victory to her son on his fifth birthday.

The pair defeated Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic 7-6(4), 6-4 for their first win in three meetings against the Kazakh-Serb duo this year. It was Townsend’s third career WTA 1000 title and her second alongside Siniakova.

The 29-year-old admitted the decision to play on her son’s birthday was emotional. “I went to Kat, and I was like, ‘I need a hug.’ I was crying in the locker room because I was sad that I was missing my son’s birthday. And she was, like, ‘OK, we do this for AJ.’”

Townsend’s strong start to 2026 has included a run to her first WTA singles final in Austin two weeks ago, where she spoke openly about “doing things [her] way.” That momentum carried into Indian Wells as she and Siniakova lifted the trophy.

She framed the choice to compete as a deliberate sacrifice. “It was a sacrifice to be here today,” Townsend continued. “But I’m chasing my dreams, and I’m really happy to be able to come out with a win, to able to call him and and show him the trophy and tell him that it was worth it for me not to not be there. But that’s part of the sacrifice of being a mother and a parent.”

Townsend also described how a FaceTime with her son eased the sting of missing the party, catching him “in the thick of his party” and seeing him “amped up on cake.” “I’m probably glad I’m not there, because he’s a hyper five-year-old amped up on sugar. He’s having fun,” she smiled.

The result added a significant WTA 1000 title to Townsend’s season and reinforced the effectiveness of the Townsend-Siniakova partnership on one of the tour’s biggest stages.

Jannik Sinner reached a milestone at the BNP Paribas Open, advancing to his first opportunity to play for the tournament trophy with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Alexander Zverev. Sinner did not drop serve in the match and moved into his 10th career ATP Masters 1000 final.

Speaking to Steve Weissman and Prakash Amritraj after the win, the world No. 2 outlined how he will balance immediate recovery, match preparation and a personal interest off court. “Yes and no. For me, we’re all quite in shape to play a couple days in a row. You always go on court in any case. There is the tension. In the final days, it’s always very different.”

He added a lighter, personal note about a packed evening schedule. “It is also an important night, because there’s also the Formula 1. But it is at midnight, so it’s not ideal. So I might not watch it. Yesterday, there was the sprint race. I always try to find a way to see what I want to see.”

Sinner also spent time with Grammy Award winner Dua Lipa and her fiancé, actor Callum Turner, after his semifinal. At the time of his media session his opponent for Sunday’s final had been decided elsewhere on the draw.

With Medvedev handing Carlos Alcaraz his first defeat of the 2026 season, Sinner offered his assessment of Daniil Medvedev’s form: “He’s back to a very, very high level. Very big serve, I feel like. he’s returning very well. Very, very deep,” he said. “Everyone is trying to be slightly more aggressive. Sascha today tried to be more aggressive. He didn’t play his best tennis today, I feel like, but everyone is trying to push. And I think Daniil has found again a good balance on court, winning a title in Dubai, coming here, making again great results.”

Sinner will prepare to face Medvedev on what is forecast to be another hot day, aiming to convert this first shot at the BNP Paribas Open title into a championship.