Tie Break Tens 2024: Ben Shelton and Emma Navarro triumph after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa
Ben Shelton and Emma Navarro won the 2024 edition of the Tie Break Tens as they beat the much-adored tennis couple Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
The Tie Break Tens is an exhibition tournament that has been taking place in Indian Wells ahead of the BNP Paribas Open. This year's event had eight mixed doubles pairs locking horns.
There were a few withdrawals before the event in Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina, and they were replaced by Maria Sakkari and Sloane Stephens.
The quarterfinals started with Zheng Qinwen and Frances Tiafoe beating the all-American duo of Sloane Stephens and Tommy Paul. The next match saw Emma Navarro and Ben Shelton triumph over Sakkari and Andrey Rublev.
The Danish duo of Caroline Wozniacki and Holger Rune also booked their place in the semifinals after defeating last year's winners Taylor Fritz and Aryna Sabalenka. The last quarterfinal saw Tsitispas and Badosa beat the Polish pair of Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz.
Shelton and Navarro were the first pair to reach the final after they defeated Rune and Wozniacki. They were joined by Tsitsipas and Badosa, who made easy work of Qinwen and Tiafoe.
Shelton and Navarro started the Tie Break Tens final strongly as they took a 3-0 lead. However, Tsitsipas and Badosa bounced back to take a 7-5 lead. The American duo did well to level the scores at 8-8.
Shelton sent in a backhand and Badosa could only return it to the net, thus giving the Americans a championship point. Shelton sealed victory for the pair after Badosa's return to his serve was well out.
This was the third successive year when the Tie Break Tens in Indian Wells had an American on the winning team, with Amanda Anisimova triumphing in 2022 and Fritz winning it last year.
Tie Break Tens 2024: Final results
Quarterfinals
Zheng Qinwen / Frances Tiafoe def. Sloane Stephens / Tommy Paul 10-8
Ben Shelton / Emma Navarro def. Maria Sakkari / Andrey Rublev 11-9
Caroline Wozniacki / Holger Rune def. Taylor Fritz / Aryna Sabalenka 10-7
Paula Badosa / Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Iga Swiatek / Hubert Hurkacz 10-2
Semifinals
Emma Navarro / Ben Shelton def. Caroline Wozniacki / Holger Rune 10-5
Paula Badosa / Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Zheng Qinwen / Frances Tiafoe 10-3
Final
Emma Navarro / Ben Shelton def. Paula Badosa / Stefanos Tsitsipas 10-8