World number two Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shocking loss to American Emma Navarro 6-3 3-6 6-2 as the latter qualified for the Indian Wells quarter-finals for the first time on Wednesday.
Navarro didn’t crack under the pressure of Sabalenka's powerful serve and bagged four of her five break-points over the two-time Australian Open champion.
Navarro made a fast start to clinch the first set before Sabalenka came back to win the second.
However, Navarro held her nerves to win the third set in convincing manner.
Navarro, seeded 23rd, sealed a quarter-final clash with ninth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece.
Sakkari, the 2022 runner-up, defeated Frenchwoman Diane Parry 6-2 3-6 6-3.
"It's a little bit unnatural for me to be in the spotlight and be playing on a court like that with a ton of fans and TVs and eyes on me. It's not my natural way," she told reporters.
"But I feel I'm definitely getting more comfortable with it and just feeling like I can be myself even if there's however many people watching.
"Also I think that was my second or third fist pump ever. If it was a little weird, cut me some slack," she said with a smile.
With the win Navarro will make her way into the top 20 for the first time after the tournament.
"Her [Navarro] potential is really great," Sabalenka told reporters.
"I think she has the potential to be in the top 10."
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff celebrated her birthday by progressing with an easy 6-0 6-2 win over Elise Mertens at Indian Wells.
The dynamic American looked in sublime form as she overpowered the Belgian 24th seed.
Mertens had defeated Naomi Osaka in the previous round but today she just hit four winners along with 21 unforced errors.
Third seed Gauff will play unseeded Yuan Yue of China, who made a comeback from a set and a break down to overcome Russian 11th seed Daria Kasatkina 4-6 6-4 6-3.
Yuan, who bagged her maiden WTA title in Texas this month, shocked Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen in the second round and is currently on a nine-match winning run.