Top seed and 2023 WTA Finals champion Iga Swiatek will face either Danielle Collins or a qualifier in the second round in the first quarter of the draw of the draw at the BNP Paribas in Indian Wells. The first WTA 1000 tournament of the Sunshine Double will start at Indian Wells on Wednesday.
Collins beat Swiatek to reach her only Grand Slam quarter final at the Australian Open. Swiatek won her five other head-to-head matches against Collins, but the US player pushed her Polish rival to three sets at the Australian Open last January.
Swiatek could face Czech rising Linda Noskova in the third round. Noskova upset Swiatek in the third round at the 2024 Australian Open and went on to reach her first Grand Prix quarter final. Swiatek won in Doha and lost to Anna Kaalinskaya in Dubai this year.
Noskova could face a second round match against British player Katie Boulter, who won the San Diego last week.
Number 6 seed Ons Jabeur could face number 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 16 on the other side of the Round of 16. Ostapenko could meet either Venus Williams or Angelique Kerber in the first round.
Jabeur could play against 16-year-old 2023 WTA Newcomer of the Year Mirra Andreeva in the second round. Andreeva upset Jabeur at last January’s Australian Open.
Former world number 1 and 2011 Indian Well champion Caroline Wozniacki will face Zhu Lin in the first round and Donna Vekic in the second round before a possible third round clash against either Jabeur or Andreeva.
In the second quarter of the draw Elena Rybakina could face 2021 Indian Wells champion Paula Badosa in the second round. Rybakina won two titles in Brisbane beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final and Abu Dhabi and reached the final in Doha. The 2022 Wimbledon champion is this year’s match-win leader on the WTA Tour in 2024. Badosa will face wild card Ashlyn Krueger in the first round to earn a chance to play against Rybakina.
Jasmine Paolini could face Anna Kalinskaya in the third round in a possible re-match of the recent matches at the Australian Open and Dubai. Kalinskaya beat Paolini in the fourth round at the Australian Open last January. Paolini beat her Russian rival in the Dubai final to win the first WTA 1000 title of her rival.
The other side of the the second quarter features 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who will face either former top 20 player Daria Seville or a qualifier in the second round.
In the third round of the draw Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff will face either Clara Burel or Wang Xiyu in the second round.
Gauff could meet Naomi Osaka, who won her first career title of her career at Indian Wells in 2018. The Japanese player will face a qualifier in the first round before a potential second round match against Liudmila Samsonova.
China’s Zheng Qinwen, who reached her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, could face her compatriot Yuan Yue, who won the WTA Tour title in Austin.
Zheng could meet 2012 and 2016 Indian Wells champion Victoria Azarenka in the third round.
In the fourth quarter quarter of the draw two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will face either Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto or Peyton Stearns in the second round.
Sabalenka could face either 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu or this year’s Australian Open semifinalist Dayana Yastremska in the second round.
Sabalenka could meet Elina Svitolina in a possible Round of 16 match. Svitolina will be seeking her first Indian Wells match win since 2021. The Ukrainian player lost to Coco Gauff in last January’s ASB Classic final in Auckland and reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open and in Dubai. Jessica Pegula could take on Maria Sakkari in the other section of the fourth section of the draw. Pegula reached two semifinals in Adelaide and San Diego this year. The US player, who reached five Grand Slam quarter finals in her career, won four titles in Washington in 2019, in Guadalajara in 2022, in Montreal WTA 1000 tournament and Seoul in 2023. Sakkari reached the final in 2022 and the semifinal in 2023 in Indian Wells.
