Indian Wells 2025: Elena Rybakina vs Katie Boulter preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | BNP Paribas Open

Match Details

Fixture: (7) Elena Rybakina vs (25) Katie Boulter

Date: March 9

Tournament: BNP Paribas Open 2025

Round: Third Round (Round of 32)

Venue: Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, United States

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Hard

Prize Money: $9,693,540

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN

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Elena Rybakina vs Katie Boulter preview

Elena Rybakina in action at the BNP Paribas Open (Image Source: Getty)

Seventh seed Elena Rybakina will take on 25th seed Katie Boulter in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on March 9. Whoever comes out on top will be up against either ninth seed Mirra Andreeva or 22nd seed Clara Tauson in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells.

Rybakina has won 14 out of 19 matches so far in 2025, and while she has yet to win a title, she has reached the quarterfinals and the semifinals of a few events. The most recent instance of this was at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she beat Moyuka Uchijima, Paula Badosa and Sofia Kenin before losing to eventual champion Andreeva.

Rybakina received a bye to the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she was up against Suzan Lamens. The Kazakh was broken in the very first game, but she bounced back and broke serve twice to take the opening set 6-3. She then broke in the first and last games of the second set to register a 6-3, 6-3 win and qualify for the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Katie Boulter has won four out of six matches so far in the 2025 season, with her best performance coming at the United Cup, where she represented Great Britain. The 28-year-old beat Nadia Podoroska and Olivia Gadecki to take her nation to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Iga Swiatek during the tie versus Poland.

Boulter then competed at the Australian Open, where she reached the second round before losing to Veronika Kudermetova. The Brit was out of action for over a month and her next tournament was the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Here, she received a bye to the second round by virtue of her seeding and faced Irina-Camela Begu.

The Romanian took the lead in the match after taking the first set via a tiebreak. However, Boulter dominated the next two sets to register a 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-0 win and book her place in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.

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Elena Rybakina vs Katie Boulter head-to-head

Rybakina leads Boulter 1-0 in their head-to-head, having beaten the Brit 6-1, 6-1 in the third round of Wimbledon 2023.

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Elena Rybakina vs Katie Boulter odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Elena Rybakina	-450
Katie Boulter	+320

Odds sourced from BETMGM.

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Elena Rybakina vs Katie Boulter prediction

Rybakina will enter the match as the favorite to win, but Boulter should not be written off, as she is capable of producing some impressive tennis at her best.

The Kazakh won 33 out of 43 matches on her first serve during her match against Suzan Lamens, producing five aces. She is among the best servers on the WTA Tour and will look to fetch as many free points as she can. Rybakina is a powerful hitter and has a highly aggressive approach. The Kazakh will be eager to dominate from the start of the match, but she also has to be careful not to produce too many mistakes.

Boulter won 38 out of 57 points on her first serve in her match against Begu, serving two aces. The Brit also served nine double faults and cannot afford to have too many of those against someone of Rybakina's quality. Boulter has a more composed style of play, which can be a good foil to the Kazakh's intensity. The Brit constructs her points well, and she will be eager to force the World No. 7 to make errors to gain the upper hand.

While the 28-year-old is a quality player, Rybakina is the superior of the two and should be able to bag the win to reach the third round in Indian Wells.

Pick: Rybakina to win in straight sets.