Aryna Sabalenka won her 100th match as world No. 1 by defeating qualifier Himeno Sakatsume 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round of the 2026 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, US.
She will next face Jaqueline Cristian, who saved three match points against Maya Joint, for a place in the round of 16 of the WTA 1000 event.
"Very happy with my level of play," Sabalenka said in a post-tournament press conference..
"Very happy to win. I haven't played in a long time since the Australian Open, and I'm happy with my performance today."
After Sakatsume won the coin toss and chose to serve, Sabalenka broke Sakatsume's serve before the two held serve for the remainder of the first set. In the second set, Sabalenka added two more breaks to close out the match.
The match also marked Sakatsume's 10th tour main-draw match, following her first-round victory over Alycia Parks. The Japanese player made her WTA 250 debut in Granby, Canada, in 2022.
