Watch: Best moments from Eisenhower Cup Tie Break Tens 2023 at Indian Wells, as Taylor Fritz & Aryna Sabalenka emerge as winners
The 11th installment of the Eisenhower Cup Tie Break Tens took place in Indian Wells on Tuesday, with the tournament being held in mixed doubles format for the first time ever. The pairing of home favorite Taylor Fritz and reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka clinched the title on an evening that saw plenty of exciting and fun moments involving some of the world's best players.
Fritz and Sabalenka won the 2023 Eisenhower Cup Tie Break Tens by beating the pairing of Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz in the final. Tie Break Tens is a unique quick-fire format of tennis, where matches comprise of a single 10-point deciding tiebreak.
Fritz sealed the deal with an ace as the American and his Belarusian partner beat the all-Polish pairing of Swiatek and Hurkacz 10-8.
DESERT DELIGHT! 🏆
@SabalenkaA & @Taylorfritz97 clinch the Indian Wells edition of the #TieBreakTens https://t.co/yVuPYvB2Ly
Fritz and Sabalenka were coming off another thrilling win with the same scoreline, having beaten Casper Ruud and Ons Jabeur in the semifinals. The title winners also beat the all-Swiss team of Belinda Bencic and Stan Wawrinka earlier.
Fun & Games In The Desert 😁
@Taylorfritz97 & @SabalenkaA combining to move into the #TieBreakTens final! https://t.co/0bPhBGI2RA
While Jabeur and Ruud could not win the title, they enthralled the crowd with some incredible rallies. One of them that particularly stood out was in their match against Tommy Paul and Jessica Pegula.
Doubles at its finest! 👏
@CasperRuud98 @Ons_Jabeur #TieBreakTens https://t.co/q6MeNg0x5V
Other teams competing in the Tie Break Tens included Greek stars Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Spanish-British pairing of Paula Badosa and Cameron Norrie, and the all-Canadian team of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez.
File under: things you love to see 🥰
Tennis with a smile between Sakkari/Tsitsipas and Badosa/Norrie at #TieBreakTens! https://t.co/6CUQreMzDf
Fritz not only impressed with his usual flair on the court, but also pulled out a 'reverse serve' that stunned his opponents as well as the crowd.
NO WAY!!! 😱
@Taylorfritz97 pulls out the reverse serve!
#TieBreakTens https://t.co/qoxDxmBUBK
The crowd also had some special guests, with businessman and philantrophist Bill Gates in attendance.
Bill Gates in the house! 🤩
#TieBreakTens #DoublesInTheDesert https://t.co/z6hK4n9GC2
Who won the previous editions of the Eisenhower Cup Tie Break Tens played at Indian Wells?
The Eisenhower Cup Tie Break Tens tennis tournament was held at Indian Wells last year as well, albeit in the women's singles format. American star Amanda Anisimova beat Maria Sakkari in the final of the 2022 event, which also featured the likes of Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka, Paula Badosa, and Leylah Fernandez, among others.
The only other time the tournament was held at Indian Wells was in 2019, in the men's singles format. Back then Milos Raonic clinched the title, beating Stan Wawrinka in the final.
The 2019 Eisenhower Cup Tie Break Tens also included Rafael Nadal, Taylor Fritz, Dominic Thiem and Gael Monfils, among others.
The qualifying rounds of the 2023 Indian Wells men's and women's singles tournaments are already underway, with main-draw matches set to begin on Thursday. Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are the respective top seeds in the ATP and WTA draws.