Victoria Mboko’s run sets up match against Amanda Anisimova at Indian Wells
Victoria Mboko stood on court in Indian Wells with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Anna Kalinskaya and a clear next task: a meeting with Amanda Anisimova for a place in the tournament quarterfinals. Mboko’s composed win moved her into the Round of 16 and set up a first-time WTA Tour clash with the sixth seed, a match that will decide who reaches the last eight.
Victoria Mboko’s momentum after the Kalinskaya match
Mboko closed out Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-1 to reach the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The opening set held serve through nine games before Mboko broke in the 10th to take the set. She then stormed through the first five games of the second set and finished the match in 1 hour, 4 minutes.
The win extended Mboko’s edge over Kalinskaya to 3-0 on the WTA Tour and kept a remarkable streak intact: she was 11-0 this year against players ranked outside the top 20. That victory also marked her 15th match win of the 2026 season and followed earlier finals appearances this year in Adelaide and Doha.
Amanda Anisimova matchup and what is at stake for Mboko
Mboko will next face sixth seed Amanda Anisimova for a spot in the quarterfinals. This will be the first meeting between Mboko and Amanda Anisimova on the WTA Tour, and the winner will move into the last eight at Indian Wells. The match pairs the No. 10 seed and a sixth seed in a matchup that was set after Mboko’s straight-sets victory over Kalinskaya.
For Mboko, the draw presents both a hurdle and an opportunity: a quarterfinal berth would follow her string of season wins and extend the run that has already included finals appearances earlier in the year. For Amanda Anisimova, the sixth seed position ensures she arrives in this encounter with a defined place in the draw and a direct path to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov add to Canadian progress
On the men’s side, Felix Auger-Aliassime rallied for a second-round victory, beating Gael Monfils 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. The ninth-seeded Auger-Aliassime finished with 14 aces, four double faults, 34 winners and 29 unforced errors, while Monfils had 12 aces, five double faults, 31 winners and 21 unforced errors. Auger-Aliassime saved two break points and won two of five; Monfils saved three of five and converted none of his two opportunities.
Auger-Aliassime will advance to play the winner of the match between 17th-seeded Andrey Rublev and Gabriel Diallo. Later in the session, unseeded Denis Shapovalov beat No. 29 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 and set up a next-round meeting with No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner. Those results added to the Canadian presence at the BNP Paribas Open alongside Mboko’s run in the women’s draw.
Earlier in the women’s draw, Mboko had also won a second-round match against Kimberly Birrell, defeating the Australian 6-4, 7-6. Seeded 10th, Mboko had a first-round bye before knocking off the world No. 69, serving seven aces with five double faults and breaking on five of her seven chances while winning 69 percent of first-serve points.
Birrell had two aces, four double faults, converted four of her seven break-point opportunities and won 54 percent of first-serve points in that match. Those statistics framed Mboko’s path through the early rounds and helped create the matchup that now sends her into a showdown with Amanda Anisimova.
Mboko began this article’s opening moment with a straight-sets win over Anna Kalinskaya, and that victory leads directly to the confirmed next development: she will face sixth seed Amanda Anisimova for a place in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells. The outcome of that match will determine whether Mboko’s run continues into the final eight of the tournament.
