Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan moved into the Round of 16 in Indian Wells for the second straight year with a 6-3, 7-5 win over 2021 BNP Paribas Open champion Paula Badosa on Monday.

No.10 seed Rybakina came back from a break down in the second set before closing out No.21 seed Badosa in 1 hour and 35 minutes.

"I know that we both have very good serves, I was focusing on mine," Rybakina said after her win. "When I lost that game [to go down a break], I was just trying to play point by point. I had a break in the first set, so I knew that it can change quickly.

"Was a really tough match, but happy that in the end I managed to win in two sets."

Rybakina, who made her Top 10 debut after reaching this year's Australian Open final, is a win away from matching her quarterfinal showing from last season in Indian Wells. She will face qualifier Varvara Gracheva on Tuesday. 

Upending the rivalry: Badosa came into the match with a commanding 4-1 lead in her head-to-head against Rybakina, including victories in their past three meetings. But Rybakina upended that history, saving five of the six break points she faced.

Rybakina used her stellar serve to rack up nine aces on the day, slightly higher than her average of 8.1 aces per match this year. Rybakina also fired 24 winners while Badosa had 11.

Key moments: Rybakina ended an opening-set stalemate with the first service break of the day for 4-3. Rybakina powered through a deuce game to consolidate the break for 5-3, then took the one-set lead after Badosa double-faulted on the last two points.

Badosa struck first in the second set, drawing a forehand error long to break for 2-1. Badosa had a chance to break again for 5-2, but Rybakina saved that break point with a winning drop shot, then found a series of strong serves to stay within touching distance.

Rybakina then used a rally forehand to pull back level at 4-4, and she saved two more break points in a gritty hold for 6-5. In the next game, a sturdy Rybakina crosscourt backhand set up match point, which she converted by forcing an error with a solid backhand return.

Looking ahead: Next up for Rybakina is a Round of 16 matchup against Gracheva, who advanced to her first Round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event by defeating No.8 Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-4. The victory was Gracheva's second over Kasatkina this season, having beaten her 6-1, 6-1 at the Australian Open.

A finalist at Austin two weeks ago, No.66 Gracheva has now won nine of her last ten matches. 

Rybakina owns a 1-0 record against Gracheva. Their only meeting came at 2022 St. Petersburg, where Rybakina won 6-2, 6-1.