Indian Wells WTA 1000: Swiatek crushes Yastremska to power into last 16

Iga Swiatek, the second seed, sprinted past Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the last 16 of the Indian Wells WTA 1000 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

It is the second consecutive match that the world No 2 has dropped only two games as she continues her formidable prowess on the courts of the Californian desert.

Swiatek is aiming for a third Indian Wells title in four years, having won the tournament in 2022 and in 2024 – when she memorably stormed the field to win her second title without dropping a set.

Despite not having won a title since last year’s Roland-Garros – an unusually barren period for the Pole – Swiatek has carried her form here from last year into this season’s tournament as she once again looks devastatingly good on the slower-playing courts at this event.

Swiatek broke Yastremska five times without reply to race into the last 16 where one of two possible Czech opponents will await her.

The defending champion will play the winner of the match between No 15 seed Karolina Muchova and Katerina Siniakova next.

The Pole won against Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia (6-2, 6-0) in the previous round of the Indian Wells tournament.

Earlier in the tournament, Yastremska, ranked No 46, beat Chinese Yue Yuan (6-2, 6-4) and Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the No 32 seed (6-3, 6-1).

Indian Wells WTA 1000, other third-round results (Indian Wells Tennis Garden, hard, USD 8.963.700, most recent results first):

• Qinwen Zheng vs. Lulu Sun
• Clara Tauson vs. Mirra Andreeva
• Elise Mertens vs. Madison Keys
• Emma Navarro vs. Donna Vekic
• Belinda Bencic vs. Diana Shnaider
• Coco Gauff vs. Maria Sakkari
• Jaqueline Cristian vs. Jasmine Paolini
• Daria Kasatkina vs. Liudmila Samsonova
• Polina Kudermetova vs. Sonay Kartal
• Aryna Sabalenka vs. Lucia Bronzetti
• Xinyu Wang vs. Jessica Pegula
• Danielle Collins vs. Elina Svitolina
• Elena Rybakina vs. Katie Boulter
• Karolina Muchova vs. Katerina Siniakova
• Marta Kostyuk vs. Caroline Dolehide: sunday