Aryna Sabalenka marked her 100th match as world number one by opening her Indian Wells campaign with a straight-sets win over Himeno Sakatsume.
Sabalenka
took just 72 minutes to earn her 6-4 6-2 triumph, as she began her bid to win her first Indian Wells singles title.
The Belarusian opened by breaking her opponent's serve to set the tone for the first set, with Sakatsume holding off a further four break points, though she could not find a way back in.
A five-game winning streak in the second then set Sabalenka en route to victory, as she converted her first match point with little fuss.
82 victories in 100 matches at the top @SabalenkaA | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/uhdUM1Ot1s
— wta (@WTA) March 6, 2026
Coco Gauff is also through to the third round, having dug in deep to earn her 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory over Kamilla Rakhimova in two hours.
Rakhimova fought back after two early breaks in the first set, but despite pegging the American back slightly, Gauff took the lead.
However, the fourth seed could not build on a strong start to the second and found herself 5-2 down before fighting back to force a tie-break in which she eventually triumphed.
Naomi Osaka also reached the next round with a straight-sets victory, breezing past Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 7-5 6-2 in just under 90 minutes.
She is now set up for a rematch with Camila Osorio, who posted an epic comeback to triumph 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 against Iva Jovic.
The home favourite had looked set to go through, going a break up, not once but twice in the second set, but Osorio showed her mettle, also saving three match points on her way to victory.
Amanda Anisimova will face Emma Raducanu in her third-round match after a comeback of her own, beating Anna Blinkova 5-7 6-1 6-0.
Anisimova registered her first set with a 6-0 scoreline since winning the final at Beijing 6-0 2-6 6-2 against Linda Noskova.
A backhand not to be messed with
— wta (@WTA) March 7, 2026
After a shaky first set, Amanda Anisimova locks in and defeats Blinkova in three, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0!#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/6AqowidWLM
And Jasmine Paolini was another one who had to show her grit, battling past Anastasia Potapova 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 in just over two and a half hours.
Indian Wells: A landmark achievement for Sabalenka
Sabalenka improved her record to 82-18 as the world number one, taking little time to mark her landmark match.
She has now claimed a 136th career WTA-1000 match win, equalling Maria Sharapova (136) for the seventh-most wins since the format's introduction in 2009.
And since the event's inauguration in 1989, the WTA top-ranked player remains undefeated against qualifiers, lucky losers and wild cards in the women's singles at Indian Wells, moving to a 15-0 record.
