Indian Wells begins on Wednesday 5 March, and with it, the lengthy build-up to a busy summer of tennis. The tournament – a combined WTA and ATP event – is one of the most prestigious and best-attended on the calendar outside of the four majors, to the point that it’s sometimes referred to as the ‘fifth grand slam’.
Following a month of tournaments all over the world, with half the top competitors jetting across the Middle East and the other half playing the ‘Golden Swing’ in South America, it’s the first time since the Australian Open that many of the best will all be in the same draw. With 192 players in action across an eventful two weeks, we picked out the five key storylines to follow at this year’s tournament.
Who can capitalise on Sinner’s absence?
Jannik Sinner’s three-month doping suspension leaves a gaping hole in the men’s draw. The Italian has been utterly dominant on hard courts over the past year, winning the last three majors on the surface, including an imperious run at the Australian Open this year. Who can step up in his absence?
World No 2 Alexander Zverev is the top seed but had a dismal recent showing in Central and South America, only winning four matches across three tournaments. Alcaraz is the two-time defending champion, but he faces a tricky draw and a potential banana skin of a quarter-final against Novak Djokovic. Djokovic himself has something of a question mark hanging over him following his injury-induced withdrawal from the Australian Open.
Could it be time for Jack Draper, recent Qatar Open finalist and new world No 12, to shine? Or Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, who won his biggest-ever hard-court title in Dubai last week?
Big names bid to make history
It’s not just regular tournament pressure on many of the big names, but several players have the chance to make history in California this year. Five-time champion Djokovic is bidding to become the only man to win Indian Wells six times, moving clear of the record he shares with Roger Federer. Meanwhile, if Alcaraz wins, he would become only the third man – alongside both Djokovic and Federer – to earn a hat-trick of consecutive titles there.
On the women’s side, world No 2 Iga Swiatek could add to her own list of records by becoming the first woman to lift the trophy three times. She is one of ten women to have won the tournament twice, with victories in 2022 and last year sandwiched by a semi-final loss to eventual champion Elena Rybakina in 2023.
Raducanu makes her return
Britain’s No 2 endured an emotional ordeal in Dubai last month, with a man who exhibited “fixated behaviour” accosting her in public, intimidating her by appearing in the stands at her second-round match, and ultimately receiving a restraining order and a ban from WTA events. Raducanu was visibly upset by the experience and has not played since, but decided to make her return at Indian Wells, where she will reportedly have a beefed-up security detail.
The former US Open champion has done well in California in recent years, but has also struggled for consistency this year. She endured a career-worst four-match losing streak until she beat Maria Sakkari in Dubai, and is without the services of former coach Nick Cavaday, who stepped back for health reasons after her Australian Open exit. A deep run at Indian Wells amid all this personal and professional turmoil may be a tough ask, but her decision to enter is itself an encouraging sign.
Spotlight back on Djokovic and Murray partnership
The news that Djokovic would team up with arch-rival Andy Murray for the Australian Open was met with widespread surprise – the sort of development that you couldn’t make up – and two months later, the novelty hasn’t worn off.
The 24-time slam champion said he and Murray would “cool off” after his frustrating semi-final withdrawal in Melbourne, but the noises coming from his camp were so positive that it wasn’t a surprise when the pair extended their partnership.
“It's indefinite in terms of how long we are going to work together but we agreed we are going to work most likely in the States and then some clay-court tournaments and see how it goes after that,” Djokovic said in Qatar last month.
It’s a big commitment: the Serb has entered both events in the ‘Sunshine Double’, Indian Wells and Miami later in March, for the first time in six years. As well as becoming the outright record holder should he win the title in California, he could also move clear of the joint-record six Miami titles he shares with Andre Agassi. Evidently the prospect of creating yet more history appeals to both player and coach.
What can the ‘next gen’ do?
One of the highlights of the season so far has been the emergence of some incredible young talents. Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca won the NextGen ATP Finals – a tournament for eight of the world’s best young players – in December and has since gone from strength to strength, upsetting then world No 9 Andrey Rublev in the Australian Open first round and winning his maiden ATP singles title last month.
19-year-old American Learner Tien made it to the fourth round in Melbourne, memorably winning a five-set thriller against former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, before getting another top-five scalp by swiftly downing Zverev in Acapulco just last week. Both teenagers are in the main draw at Indian Wells, Fonseca as a wildcard, and could do yet more damage.
The women’s draw features some more youngsters who have already started living up to their immense potential. Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva enjoyed a breakout year back in 2023 and her star has continued rising: she beat two major winners, including Swiatek, en route to becoming the youngest WTA 1000 champion in history at the Dubai Championships last month. Now up to a career high of ninth in the world and brimming with confidence, she is a real contender for another significant title.
