By Chris OddoThe sun has set on another year in Tennis Paradise and the 2025 BNP Paribas Open had it all -- including a record-breaking attendance of 504,268 fans the Indian Wells fortnight radiates a unique positivity into the tennis world shining its spotlight on the game’s brightest stars as they descend upon the Coachella Valley the champions cradling the iconic Baccarat Crystal as their names are etched into the ever growing annals of the BNP Paribas Open here are 25 thoughts on the BNP Paribas Open fortnight that was 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva took the tournament by storm this year making history as the youngest champion in the California desert since Serena Williams in 1999 She became the third player this century to reel off a winning streak of more than ten matches before turning 21 and joins legends Steffi Graf and Serena Williams as one of three players to have defeated the World No.1 and World No.2-ranked players en route to a title before turning 18 Andreeva made us all wonder: if she can produce that level of tennis at 17 Jack Draper’s three-set win over Carlos Alcaraz was an eye-opening victory that propelled the hard-hitting southpaw into his maiden Masters final 6-2 victory over Holger Rune in Sunday’s final was more evidence that the menacing southpaw could have staying power at the top of the game He’ll always remember the time in Tennis Paradise when he took his breathtaking game to the next level Novak Djokovic was back in the California desert making his 16th career appearance at the BNP Paribas Open The five-time champion lost in three sets to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round but the icon’s presence was felt – and enjoyed – around the grounds by the throngs who came to watch the 37-year-old legend continue to chase history but fans who bundled up and stayed for the duration were rewarded with instant classics featuring Emma Navarro and Grigor Dimitrov Navarro solidified her growing Indian Wells legacy with a miracle comeback against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea saving two match points to get through the second round Dimitrov and 38-year-old Gael Monfils gave the fans one of the most electric men’s matches in recent memory as both battled like warriors across the three-hour and one minute slugfest the qualifying tournament at the BNP Paribas Open becomes bigger – and better This year there were former Top 10 talents like Fabio Fognini mixed in with decorated players like Chris Eubanks Throw in a cluster of rising Americans playing for a chance at a lifelong dream and you have a Hollywood script in the making 38-year-old Monfils edged American Sebastian Korda 7-6(2) 7-6(4) to become the third-oldest player to ever reach the third round at a Masters 1000 event The Frenchman continues to play at a level that belies his age That’s the message we got from the performance of 17-year-old wunderkind Mirra Andreeva during the Indian Wells fortnight The teen sensation toppled two-time champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals to reach her first BNP Paribas Open final Holger Rune has made a name for himself on the Masters stage before This year the 21-year-old Dane remedied that with a run for the ages that demonstrated the development he has undergone over the last few seasons Rune never let his passion for tennis waver “It's very basic and it's very maybe boring to say but I just love tennis,” Rune said this week “So even not being satisfied with my results I still love to go down to the practice court and hit forehands Southern California vibes were strong in the California desert as local talents enjoyed massive support and took giant strides in Tennis Paradise Thousand Oaks Marcos Giron nabbed his first Top 5 win and reached the round of 16 19-year-old Irvine native Learner Tien made his main draw debut as did Nishesh Basavareddy of Newport Beach Laguna Hills native Alex Michelsen reached the third round earned her first main draw victory in the desert American Asia Muhammad reached the Top 10 of the WTA doubles rankings last month Last year I decided to stop playing singles and just give it my all in doubles,” she said California native on Saturday – she won her first BNP Paribas Open title with partner Demi Schuurs The Third annual FILA International Junior Championships took place around the grounds at Tennis Paradise giving young talents a chance to play at the same event as their heroes and giving fans a chance to watch the future of tennis son of Indian Wells legend Lindsay Davenport while Carlsbad’s Julieta Pareja won the Girls taking out qualifier Alexis Nguyen in the final Mixed doubles is now a fixture at the BNP Paribas Open Outside of the Slams and the Olympics you won’t find the discipline a 12-team field battled it out at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in a tournament that offered $370k in prize money Italy’s Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani took the title raising the trophy on Stadium 3 in front of an enthusiastic crowd the BNP Paribas Open would not have the same flavor From the group that wore bee costumes to Carlos Alcaraz’s matches to the loyal enthusiasts that line up to watch player practices to the kids who come to snag autographs as they dream that one day they too will play in the stadium like their heroes – we salute all 504,268 of you all It was a breakthrough tournament for Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor then proceeded all the way to his first Masters quarterfinal I always kept working and doing the right things and I always felt like it would happen when the time is right,” Griekspor said With a career-changing experience under his belt it could be Tallon’s time to shine on tour There is no better way to kick off a fortnight of world-class tennis than this a star-studded mixed doubles event that takes place in Stadium 2 and features as the ice-breaking event that sets the tone on the eve of main draw play This year it was Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina taking the title but the fans that came out in droves to glimpse their favorite stars in a refreshing Tennis fans got an introduction to a young woman who promises to be a fixture at the BNP Paribas Open in the years to come: 17-year-old Iva Jovic California native whose earliest memories of this tournament were of chasing Novak Djokovic around for an autograph when she was five years old Now that she has her first main draw win under her belt 20-year-old Arthur Fils had it all on display this year in the California desert as he pushed into his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal and came within a whisker of topping two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev once there Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz saw his BNP Paribas Open winning streak stunted at 16 matches by Jack Draper in the semifinals but there is no denying that the Spaniard gave fans their money’s worth over the course of his run to the semifinals explosive and inspired – there’s never a dull moment when the four-time Grand Slam champion is on the court Madison Keys played her first matches as a Grand Slam champion at this year’s BNP Paribas Open and she handled the spotlight like a true champion opening up to the press about dealing with the new set of expectations that she now faced The last American woman standing in singles stretched her winning streak to 16 winning back-to-back three-setters before finally running out or steam in the semis World No.1’s Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo claimed the men’s doubles title defeating Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson 6-3 The victory was a monumental one for Pavic who became the first active doubles player to claim 40 ATP titles with the win Indian Wells had been the only Masters final that Pavic had yet to play – now he has the title Marcos Giron grew up coming to the BNP Paribas Open as a fan so you can imagine the 31-year-old felt this year when he defeated Casper Ruud for his first ATP Top 5 win and made his way into the round of 16 this is a tournament I came to when I was younger and to actually be able to go out there and play and to beat a top-5 player here is really amazing.” Washington native made a big splash in the desert this year coming through qualifying and defeating Italy’s Flavio Cobolli for his first ATP win We’re beyond excited to see what the engaging down-to-earth 22-year-old can do for an encore in 2025 There is no better practice court setup than the one fans find at the BNP Paribas Open Watching the sports’ biggest stars up close and personal on the practice courts is the most impactful thing they will experience at Indian Wells That’s why the bleachers are packed just as full at the stadiums in Tennis Paradise The BNP Paribas Open wouldn’t be what it is without the loyal support of our title sponsor Thanks to BNP Paribas for joining forces with Tennis Paradise through 2029 Timothée Chalamet (not quite a complete unknown) and Kylie Jenner in a box with former NBA all-stars Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki That’s the kind of starpower top tier tennis in Southern California delivers The tennis star writes exclusively in TIME about her decision to return to a tournament that has haunted her and I was a 19-year-old focused on winning and being the best I could be both for me and for the kids who looked up to me I had spent tens of thousands of hours—most of my ­adolescence—­serving training day in and day out in pursuit of a dream I then sat and watched Venus qualify for the singles event and make a magical run all the way to the quarterfinals It was a giant win not only for her but also for our whole family and it marked the beginning of a new era that we were unknowingly writing My first big tournament win also happened there nothing could have prepared me for what happened in the final the crowd immediately started jeering and booing but Venus had tendinitis and had to pull out The false allegations that our matches were fixed hurt Head to Time.com to read the rest of her story INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Novak Djokovic was shocked by Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-2 6-1 in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday suffering an early exit at the hands of a tournament lucky loser for a second consecutive year Djokovic fell to lucky loser Luca Nardi of Italy in the California desert last year, and history repeated itself on the Stadium One court a day after top-seeded Alexander Zverev also went out hitting 14 unforced errors and being broken twice in the first set He regrouped to race out to a 3-0 lead in the second leveling the contest with a mighty forehand winner and pumping his fist to the sold-out crowd But Van De Zandschulp ran away with the decider breaking Djokovic for a fourth time by a perfectly executed lob for a 3-1 lead and sealing the stunning upset when Djokovic's shot went wide on match point "I started really well, and then of course Novak came back," said Van De Zandschulp, who secured a berth to the tournament upon the withdrawal of 47th-ranked Facundo Diaz Acosta "In the end and in the third set I was happy to get my level back." Van De Zandschulp was up a set and 3-0 on Nick Kyrgios in his first-round match on Stadium One on Thursday before the Australian withdrew with wrist pain retired from his Australian Open semifinal against Zverev with a hamstring injury and lost in the Qatar Open first round last month He said the leg injury was behind him coming into the tournament and did not look hampered by it in his match Saturday when he was accompanied by coach Andy Murray "No excuses for a poor performance," Djokovic said "It doesn't feel great when you play this way on the court World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is not playing at the tournament as he serves a doping suspension in their semifinals match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Saturday celebrates a point against Daniil Medvedev during their semifinals match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Saturday reacts to winning a point against Jack Draper reacts to a call as he plays against Carlos Alcaraz after defeating him in their semifinals match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Saturday celebrates after defeating Daniil Medvedev (AP) — Jack Draper toppled two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-1 6-4 on Saturday to reach the BNP Paribas Open final The 13th-seeded Draper will face 12th-seeded Holger Rune on Sunday Rune beat fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-6 6-4 in the first semifinal for his 150th tour-level victory top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka will play 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva They won semifinal matches Friday night in chilly conditions Draper ended Alcaraz’s 16-match winning streak in the ATP Masters 1000 event in the California desert The 23-year-old English left-hander — set to break into the top 10 in the world for the first time Monday — won last year in Vienna and Stuttgart for his lone tour titles “It was a strange match in all honesty,” Draper said “Carlos came out a little flat I had a chance in the first game of the second they can change their momentum very quickly my attitude and I somehow managed to get over the line.” missed a chance to become the youngest player to win three consecutive singles titles at any ATP Tour event — and just the third to do it at Indian Wells The 21-year-old Spanish star won in Rotterdam in February for his 17th ATP Tour title snapped a seven-match losing streak in semifinals Playing Daniil is one of the toughest challenges for me on tour I managed to beat him the first time (we played) but it was still so difficult because he puts in great effort and is super solid His biggest victory came in Paris in 2022 in another ATP Masters 1000 tournament Medvedev won the last of his 20 ATP Tour titles in 2023 The 29-year-old Russian lost to Alcaraz last year in the Indian Wells final We’re getting to it at Indian Wells This year’s BNP Paribas Open had a lot of chaos in the foreground — Novak Djokovic Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud were all upset in their first matches The next few days will get increasingly tense with singles quarterfinals beginning on Thursday The spotlight rightfully hovers over Spanish phenom and second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz (No who is in pursuit of an Indian Wells three-peat He has defeated Daniil Medvedev in consecutive finals here Five American men reached the Round of 16: Taylor Fritz Only Shelton made it to the quarters and he beat Nakashima to get there 1 Aryna Sabalenka seeks her first solo title in the Coachella Valley The Belarusian advanced to the final in 2023 but fell short to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina She won the doubles championship in 2019 with Belgian partner Elise Mertens Defending singles champion and two-time winner Iga Swiatek breezed into the quarterfinals with a 6-1 The Athletic’s Matthew Futterman on the court conditions: the Indian Wells playing surface was fashioned by Plexipave the courts have three layers: Asphalt or concrete on the bottom a softer acrylic or silicone surface on top of that and then surface paint that contains varying amounts of sand the former player who is tournament director at Indian Wells said organizers listened to the complaints from the players last year and decided it was time at least try to speed up the courts ‘The outside courts seem to be a little bit quicker than Stadium One and Stadium Two,’ Haas said in an interview Tuesday looking at numbers and trying to figure out how to keep all the courts as even as possible On the mercurial weather: the sworn enemy of tennis players at all levels — that rarely stops play but defines its rhythm more than any other weather condition — is puppeting the small yellow ball they try to hit inside the white lines and driving them to distraction.” Charlie Eccleshare on Yosuke Watanuki: Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki offered the kind of sportsmanship against Frances Tiafoe that many fans have said they would like to see when he was given a time violation for taking too long before serving Watanuki walked towards umpire Mohamed Lahyani and told him that he hadn’t been ready to receive …Watanuki went on to win an action-packed match 6-4 7-6(6) despite Tiafoe twice serving for the second set One of those breaks for Watanuki came immediately after he had asked for a Pepsi when struggling for energy down 5-4 349 after missing most of last year with injury is the lowest-ranked player in the Indian Wells last 16 since 2004.” Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication (Photo of Carlos Alcaraz: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images) Steven Louis Goldstein is a Staff Writer for The Athletic He lives in Los Angeles and graduated from Northwestern University In the early days of this year's BNP Paribas Open there's a hot topic bubbling to the surface and that topic is the surface -- the playing surface that is For years the surface at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden was by the brand Plexipave but this year they switched to a Laykold surface Open and the Miami Open -- the two other biggest tournaments in the United States The question is what difference will it make The BNP Paribas Open has long been known to have a slow and gritty hardcourt with high bounces that perhaps favor an athletic player who can chase down more balls rather than a hard hitter who relies on power The Laykold surface is believed to play a little faster than that The top pros have only played a few practice sessions on the new courts so many are reserving some judgment until the actual matches tell the real story who has made the last two finals at Indian Wells but has been critical of the slow playing surface in the past said what he's seen so far doesn't seem much different and in fact may even be slower and grittier so let's see how it plays during the tournament and when it's rough it's slow," Medvedev said but added with a laugh that he's still jetlagged "So I won't be able to tell you that I'm sure what I'm saying." said she did feel like the new surface is playing a little faster Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz said Tuesday that he hasn't had a chance to practice on them yet but said when he heard the news about a surface change it's a change that I didn't understand when I saw it I don't know the reason why they did it," Alcaraz said I think I consider myself a player who can adapt very well his game on the surfaces and all the conditions that you're playing on." The 2023 women's champin Elena Rybakina said one difference she's noticed a little so far is the bounce height but I will say maybe the bounce is a little bit lower," she said I think it's clear that there is no consensus on the impact the new surface will have But it is a relatively hot topic among the players and the two weeks of the tournament Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Former world No. 1 tennis star Naomi Osaka hit another setback on Wednesday, falling in straight sets in the first round of the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells to Colombia’s unseeded Camila Osorio Osaka earned her first-ever WTA title at Indian Wells defeating Daria Kasatkina to become the event's 2018 champion Wednesday's 6-4, 6-4 loss marked the now-No. 56 Osaka's first return to the court since an abdominal injury forced an early end to her impressive 2025 Australian Open run "It feels like a bump in the road," said the four-time Grand Slam champion after the match but I still feel like I had so many chances to be in the match." 53 player now standing as the only Colombian woman to ever defeat a former world No "It's a dream come true," said Osorio "I really wanted to play on this court and was really excited and looking forward to playing a champion like Naomi Indian Wells serves as the opener for the Sunshine Double a pair of early-season high-profile WTA 1000 events that sees the world’s top players hitting the US hardcourt The annual tournament duo includes this week's event in California and Positioned in the tennis calendar's longest break between Grand Slams the Sunshine Double often gives players a competitive opportunity to build up their rankings by accruing points in the lead-up to May's French Open To that end, the world's top contenders will all enter the Indian Wells fray on Friday, including No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and the tournament's defending champion, No. 2 Iga Świątek The event's convenient West Coast locale also attracts a wealth of US entrants, with No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Jessica Pegula, and 2025 Australian Open champion No. 5 Madison Keys joining fellow Stateside competitors No 18 Amanda Anisimova on this week's Indian Wells court The 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells will be contested through March 16th with all seeded competitors beginning their tournament runs in Friday's Round of 64 Live coverage of the tournament will air across the Tennis Channel's platforms Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free Four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone maintained her 400-meter crown this weekend, completing her second straight 400-meter events sweep at the Grand Slam Track series' Miami meet on Sunday One month after completing the sweep at the first Grand Slam meet in Kingston the 25-year-old US track star won Saturday's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.07 seconds before also taking Sunday's 400-meter flat event in 49.69 seconds — a race that earned McLaughlin-Levrone a $100,000 winner's check McLaughlin-Levrone has a veritable stranglehold on the 400-meter hurdles dominating that race since her last loss at the 2019 World Championships she blasted through six world records across 12 straight victories — lowering the women's 400-meter hurdles world standard from 52.16 seconds to a blistering 50.37-second pace With two more Grand Slam meets in Philadelphia and LA in the coming weeks McLaughlin-Levrone is considering a literal change of pace temporarily switching to run the 100-meter events — a distance she hasn't competed in since 2018 and other track stars will next compete in the third Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia from May 30th through June 1st before closing out the series in LA between June 27th and June 29th All 2025 Grand Slam Track meets stream live on Peacock English soccer club London City earned both a trophy and promotion from the UK's second-tier Women's Championship league this weekend lifting the Michele Kang-owned Lionesses into the top-flight Women's Super League (WSL) next season With a 2-2 draw against second-place Birmingham City in Sunday's 2024/25 season finale London City sealed the single point they needed to claim the second-flight league title and secure their ticket to the 2025/26 WSL campaign London City's rise is major success story for owner Michele Kang and her multi-team organization Kynisca — which also owns the NWSL's Washington Spirit and French club Lyon — as the Lionesses reach the UK's top-flight just two seasons after Kang's 2023 purchase of the club London City will take the WSL spot of last season's promoted team who were relegated from the top-tier league last month and currently hold a dismal 2-15-4 record Crystal Palace's struggles to compete after leveling up are nothing new with many promoted clubs often stumbling into relegation after a single season with the women's sports mogul planning to see the Lionesses rise up the WSL and "We have been building a team to be at a minimum, on day one, mid-tier WSL," Kang told the BBC "When I first came here a lot of people were concerned for me," Kang explained "How can an independent women's team survive if you don't have the male team that can provide the brand and resources The 2025 PWHL playoffs are officially set, with the Ottawa Charge and Minnesota Frost punching their postseason tickets in Saturday's final regular-season games to join the first-place Montréal Victoire and second-place Toronto Sceptres in the second-year league's playoff bracket Needing two wins in addition to two losses from either the Charge or the Boston Fleet for a chance to defend their 2024 title Minnesota found another gear in the season's final week The Frost first defeated Ottawa 3-0 last Wednesday before handing a crumbling Fleet side an 8-1 Saturday thrashing leapfrogging Boston to narrowly advance to the playoffs following an up-and-down regular season Minnesota's massive momentum grab directly affected this week's 2025 PWHL semifinals pairings As first-place finishers, the Victoire had the opportunity to choose their first-round opponent between the third- and fourth-place finishers — with Montréal opting out of facing the Frost to instead open the playoffs against the Charge. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports) "This group is hungry, and we're excited for the playoffs," said Victoire captain and the 2024/25 PWHL season's top goal scorer Marie-Philip Poulin "We're pretty excited to start the playoffs at home Also snagging home-ice advantage is second-place Toronto who must now overcome Minnesota in their best-of-five semifinal series to earn a spot in the 2025 Walter Cup championship series The puck drops on the 2025 PWHL Playoffs on Wednesday 4-seed Minnesota will meet on the ice at 7 PM ET Top-seeded Montréal's semifinal series against No 3-seed Ottawa will begin at 7 PM ET on Thursday All games will stream live on the PWHL YouTube channel The WNBA tipped off its preseason slate this weekend, as early contenders stole the spotlight behind massive wins signaling potential success in the 2025 regular-season "I haven't played in, like, 200 days, so I was a little nervous going in," Fever star and Iowa alum Caitlin Clark said after Sunday's game. "The competitive spirit in me — you just want to play really good for these fans." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports) LSU grad Angel Reese and former Tigers transfer Hailey Van Lith also shined on the collegiate court returning to Baton Rouge to help the Chicago Sky defeat Brazil 89-62 on Friday "I'm just happy to be back to see all the fans because I know how much was put into this program." Reese didn't skip a beat in her return from last year's season-ending wrist injury 10-rebound double-double in Friday's clash rookie Van Lith scored her first professional points in the game and three rebounds in her 13 minutes off the bench "It's super surreal in terms of the turnaround from where I was two weeks ago to where I am today but [I'm] just soaking it up and enjoying every moment," Bueckers told reporters after the game Golden State selected Sellers with the No. 17 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. pic.twitter.com/CU5VOdTy6x While the results don't count, the weekend exhibition allowed coaches and viewers to evaluate fresh talent and new roster combinations ahead of the significant roster cuts that teams must make prior to the 2025 season tip-off on May 16th The season's first big-name roster cut came from Golden State on Saturday, when the Valkyries waived guard Shyanne Sellers after taking the standout Maryland alum No The preseason action continues this week with a trio of exhibitions on deck on Tuesday the Minnesota Lynx will visit the Chicago Sky at 7 PM ET before the LA Sparks square off against new California rival Golden State while the Phoenix Mercury takes on Las Vegas at 10 PM ET All games will stream live on WNBA League Pass. McLaughlin-Levrone Runs Record 400-Meter Hurdles, Extends Grand Slam Track Streak USWNT '99ers Story Scores Feature Film Development with Netflix Katie Ledecky Nears Own 1,500-Meter Freestyle Record at TYR Pro Swim Series UConn Basketball Lands Top Transfer Serah Williams Coco Gauff Ousts Iga Świątek From 2025 Madrid Open Semifinals Sports Are Fun! with Kelley O'Hara: Is NIL Killing College Rivalries? Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter. © 2024 Just Women’s Sports Inc. Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.  By clicking “Accept”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device Draper and Rune were the first non Top 10 players to compete in a Masters final since 2021 in Indian Wells. Guess who won the men’s event that year? Draper’s fellow British lefty, Cam Norrie Norrie made the Top 10 in the rankings a year later Indian Wells truly has been a Tennis Paradise for Draper “It’s incredible,” Draper said post match in a televised interview I’m just so grateful and so happy to be out here to be able to play Just all the work I’ve done over the last few years it feels like it’s coming together on the big stage and I can’t put that into words.” He flew out of the gates against Alcaraz — the two-time defending champion — claiming the first set in a lightning quick 23 minutes Alcaraz said afterwards it was probably one of the worst sets of tennis he’d ever played The four-time Grand Slam champ also said he waswary of Draper’s game and it led to nerves prior to the semifinal The healthy respect Draper has among his peers is set to grow further after he bettered the 21-year-old Rune especially since his fitness concerns seem to be waning I approached the (match) well,” said Draper I had a few ups and downs during the match A bit low energy against Carlos and I kind of learned from that today I knew Holger was going to come out and play some really good tennis So I needed to be aggressive and play to win from the first ball and I did an amazing job of that.“I didn’t allow him to play I felt like I dictated the match really well.” breaking immediately as he moved the Dane all around the court Rune’s anticipation habitually allows him to steal points but Draper had him guessing when he held for 2-0 He slammed down serves to hold for 4-0 and Rune had to deliver a 94 mph forehand to avoid trailing 5-0 That missed opportunity didn’t shake Draper — he held in a Roger Federer-esque one minute for 5-1 hit 12 winners overall and only made seven un- forced errors Rune reached into his bag of tricks against two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev on Saturday instead attempting to mostly pound away on forehands 13 wasn’t getting the results he hoped for in the wind and sunshine Rune took a toilet break at the end of the first set But the first point of the second saw him hit a double fault Draper broke again when Rune opted to let a return on a serve and volley go Having already hit, arguably, the shot of the tournament against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round Rune produced another spectacular shot in the fourth game of the second — a cross-court forehand winner from well outside the doubles alley He finally worked his way into a Draper service game (deuce) When they faced off last year in Cincinnati Draper only served at 49 percent and lost in straight sets Three wild Rune forehands helped Draper break again for 5-2 — and realistically the final was done it ended when Rune’s backhand pass went wide Draper knelt on the court and seemed to take the moment in Draper finished with 10 aces and only lost two points behind his first serve Rune lost for the first time in his last 10 matches against a lefty he might not immediately find positives given how his fourth Masters final ended “It’s been a great two weeks here,” said Rune during the trophy ceremony “It never feels nice not to be able to step over the final line but that’s life sometimes.” Tears then came when Rune spoke of his family But Rune made his first final overall in 14 months “The players are so well looked after here I didn’t get a chance to experience it much last year but this is one of my favorite tournaments now,” Draper said with a smile 12 months after exiting in the first round Download the official BNP Paribas Open Mobile App to manage your tickets and follow your favorite players The BNP Paribas Open has returned for 2025 coming off of what could be considered one of the most significant tournaments in the event's recent history The tournament hosted a record crowd of 493,440 for the two-week event which began this year on March 2 and runs until March 16 The tournament introduced a new BNP Paribas Open digital app and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden revamped its entire food and drink offerings The event remains the largest two-week combined WTA and ATP tournament outside of the four Grand Slams Here’s what you need to know before you go: Expect the field to once again be packed with many of the biggest stars in tennis which was Djokovic's first at Indian Wells since 2019 Djokovic won the gold metal in men's tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics Joining Djokovic in the men's draw will be back-to-back champion Carlos Alcaraz who is aiming to the be just the third player (after Djokovic and Roger Federer) to win three consecutive BNP Paribas Open titles All matches will be played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden at 78-200 Miles Ave. To purchase tickets online, visit bnpparibasopen.com/tickets call 1-800-999-1585 from Monday to Friday from 10 a.m Indian Wells Tennis Garden parkingGeneral and ADA parking off of Miles Avenue is free Valet parking is accessed from Washington Street through Gate 2 on the West side of the venue This service is only available for Front Box and Club Suites Series ticket holders General and ADA parking off of Miles Avenue is free All other day sessions begin at 11 a.m.; evening sessions begin at 6 p.m Women’s and men’s qualifying begins at 10 a.m with all proceeds to benefit The Champions Volunteer Foundation Women’s and men’s qualifying continues at 10 a.m Gates open at 10 a.m.; day session starts at 11 a.m Gates open at 10 a.m.; day starts at 11 a.m March 14: Women’s semifinals/Men’s doubles finals Gates open at 10 a.m.; session starts at 11 a.m March 15: Men’s semifinals/Women’s doubles finals Matches will be televised live on Tennis Channel You may also stream matches live on the Tennis TV app or via Tennis Channel Plus throughout the tournament starting on Wednesday Live music performances will keep fans entertained each day at the tournament’s Village Stage New BNP Paribas Open 2025 mobile app features livestreamingLivestreaming of all main draw matches will be available via the Official BNP Paribas Open mobile app to fans on-site at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden which will make all matches available on demand upon their conclusion all ATP Tour matches will be available to livestream on the Tennis TV website and apps International fans hoping to catch the action of the BNP Paribas Open can visit the tournament website for a full list of international broadcasters Andrew John covers the BNP Paribas Open for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Defending champion Iga Swiatek cruised past Dayana Yastremska 6-0 6-2 on Sunday to reach the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells The dominant display followed her 6-2, 6-0 victory over Caroline Garcia in her first match is aiming to become the first woman to win the tournament three times She looked eager to do so in as little time as possible reeling off 10 games in a row and needing just 65 minutes I got a bit tired -- it's always hard to finish a match like that but I'm happy that I kept my intensity up in the last game to close it," she said "I had control from the beginning so I'm happy with the performance for sure." The five-time major champion has not won a title since her triumph at Roland Garros in 2024 her longest drought since winning her first major title in 2020 She served a one-month suspension in October for a failed drug test and has seen Aryna Sabalenka take her world No but said the California desert is an ideal setting to get back to winning ways "I already have my routine so it feels like home the place to be and a great place to play tennis." Swiatek will face 15th seed Karolina Muchova in the round of 16 after the Czech player beat her compatriot Katerina Siniakova in the afternoon Also advancing on the women's side was 2023 champion Elena Rybakina, who powered past Britain's Katie Boulter 6-0 Rybakina fell behind 5-3 in the second before regrouping She stretched to hit a sensational defensive shot in a game where she broke back for 5-5, and broke again on match point to seal the win Rybakina, who missed last year's tournament because of an illness, will play ninth-seeded teenager Mirra Andreeva in a rematch of their Dubai semifinal which the Russian won in three sets en route to becoming the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 title Andreeva is coached by former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez who the 17-year-old said was keeping her focused "She already told me that she booked a court at 12 p.m," she told reporters after her night match "I see not much time passed from the match .. Svitolina's countrywoman Marta Kostyuk beat American wild card Caroline Dolehide 6-3, 6-3. The defending two-time champion didn’t disappoint The 21-year-old wunderkind produced myriad moments of magic as he battled past Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-3 7-6(4) for his 16th consecutive BNP Paribas Open victory and a spot in Saturday’s semifinals The victory puts the Spaniard two wins from becoming the third player in history to complete a three-peat at the tournament. Only icons Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have previously achieved the feat Alcaraz, who will face Jack Draper in the semifinals has made Indian Wells his personal proving ground with a 20-2 lifetime record in the Coachella Valley I love the energy – I love everything here,” Alcaraz said after his win Six break points went begging for Cerundolo in his first two return games of the contest and they proved to be one missed chance too many it was time for Alcaraz to create his own chances in the eighth game of the set Alcaraz struck and converted the first break of the evening for a 5-3 lead “It’s like a magic wand in that young man’s hand” said Paul Annacone who was commentating the match for Tennis Channel after a particularly deft backhand volley winner in the next game Though the conditions were challenging on Thursday evening the quality of the tennis was exceptional from both players throughout their second tour-level meeting Even Alcaraz’s missed chances were spectacular Case in point: a tweener attempt at 30-all in the third game of the second set which saw the 21-year-old miss a few feet long; the frothy roar of the crowd during the point made it hard to tell that Alcaraz’s attempt hadn’t caught the line 26-year-old Cerundolo left an indelible impression on the match as well There was his 97 mph forehand into the wind that had the crowd gasping in their seats The top-ranked player from South America played exceptionally well just not well enough to meet the challenge of facing Alcaraz on a court he has dominated for the last three years “Francisco was playing really great tennis from the beginning to the end of the match,” said Alcaraz It was a really great match and I have to give credit to him for keeping a great level.”   and eventually converted a break for 3-1 in set two capping a prolonged rally with a booming forehand winner and raising his arms aloft as if to tell the crowd But he couldn’t withstand the relentless barrage of shot quality that came from the Spaniard in the end Alcaraz broke back in the seventh game and forced things into a tiebreak where he finally put an end to matters at the one hour and 43-minute mark After a tight second set, in chilly conditions on Stadium 2, the 23-year-old Brit came through with a clutch win over American Ben Shelton, 6-4, 7-5, to reach his first Masters 1000 semifinal.  Draper outgunned the No. 11 seed in a match of stylistic doppelgangers that was played with the thinnest of margins. Draper came out like a house on fire in the opening set, making 83 percent of his first-serves and winning all but three of his service points.  “It’s like facing a mirror – both of us come with a lot of firepower,” Draper said after the win.  Shelton entered the fray with more energy in the second set, and it paid off. The 22-year-old broke Draper early and led 3-0, but he couldn’t make the lead stand up. Draper pushed back, breaking and levelling at three-all, then continued to pressure Shelton in his service games.  A Shelton double-fault gave Draper his second break of the set and a chance to serve for his first masters 1000 semifinal, at 6-5.  The No.13 seed clinched his victory, rallying from 0-30 in the final game to set a semifinal with Alcaraz, their fifth career meeting.  Draper is up to a career-high of No. 11 in the world in the current ATP live rankings, and owns one win against the two-time champion.  “I don’t set too many goals,” Draper said, when informed on court of his current ranking status. “I’m living my dream by playing on these big courts against the best players in the world, I just keep on working hard, keep my head down, and keep on enjoying it.” Download the official BNP Paribas Open Mobile App to manage your tickets and follow your favorite players! Coco Gauff won't turn 21 until March 13 yet she's already won a Grand Slam singles title and currently ranks third in the world in the WTA. One thing she hasn't done yet is win the BNP Paribas Open. No American woman has since Serena Williams did it in 2001. In 2022, Taylor Fritz became the first American man to win the event since Andre Agassi 21 years earlier. Gauff reached the semifinals last year and the quarterfinals the year before. Though the women's draw is stacked with accomplished talent, Gauff has to be considered a favorite to win the Indian Wells tournament. It's staggering to think that if Gauff were to win it, she'd be the first American woman to win it in her lifetime. "Every year they love to remind us of that stat when we compete," Gauff said Tuesday with a smile. "We're all like, who's it going to be?" Gauff has a first round bye and will take the court for the first time Saturday, against either Emma Raducanu of Great Britain or Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, presumably on Stadium Court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. With Gauff, Australian Open champion Madison Keys (ranked fifth) and Jessica Pegula (fourth) ranked inside the top five, it marks the first time since 2003 that three American women are in the top five. There's 17 American women ranked inside the top 100. "There might be a nice little breakthrough for an American player this year to potentially go very far," BNP Paribas Open tournament director Tommy Haas said. "Madison Keys is one to watch for. Obviously Coco as well. She's always one to watch out for, and Jessica Pegula as well." It's a great time for American women in professional tennis. It may be impossible to pinpoint exactly what is working, but there's a camaraderie between the players that isn't always typical of players representing the same country in tennis. "There's just a really great group of women right now who, I think when we see each other do well, we're not only extremely excited for them," Keys said Tuesday. "But with the support and kind of we're all being cheerleaders with each other, I think it just helps push all of us to continue to have some really good success." Gauff echoed those comments, saying that the American women push each other and that every time one of them wins a big tournament or even comes close, it inspires the others. "You see one win a tournament and you also want to do that," Gauff said. Though Keys is coming off an Australian Open victory and is surely entering Indian Wells with the confidence that comes from winning a Grand Slam, Gauff may still be the player to watch. She already has the confidence and charisma that often doesn't come until later in a player's career, yet she still has a humility about her that keeps her grounded. Gauff arrived in Indian Wells after attending the Oscars on Sunday in Los Angeles where she met celebrities such as Samuel L. Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg and Ben Stiller, yet said that she was surprised by how many people knew of and recognized her. Even more will know who she is if she becomes the first American woman in 24 years to win Indian Wells. "I was in the semis last year so I was hoping it would be me," she said. "Hopefully, this year we can, and if it's not me, hopefully it's an American. "Taylor was the last American in general to win. So hopefully we can maybe do a double and have a woman and male win. That would be cool." Andrew John covers the BNP Paribas Open for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com. “Amazing opportunities” came when he was away from the game but with time potentially running out on his career, tennis seems to be at the forefront of his mind.“I'm extremely grateful for those (opportunities), but this is where it's all started,” said the 29-year-old. “None of this would be possible without tennis. None of what I can do for my family, myself, my team, the travel, none of it was possible if I didn't have the results I had in tennis, who I was in tennis.” If Kyrgios never plays again at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, he’ll still have enjoyed success. Kyrgios reached two quarterfinals and beat the likes of Novak Djokovic — who he would have faced in the second round Saturday had he advanced — and Alexander Zverev. He also lost a thriller to Rafael Nadal in 2022. “Even after the Australian Open, I wasn't sure what I was going to play next, but this was always probably going to be one of the tournaments I'm going to play regardless,” said Kyrgios. “I love it here. I've had so many good memories here.” By BNP Paribas OpenThe last time time a pair of World No 1 doubles players won the men’s crown in Indian Wells came in 2014 when the all-conquering Bryan Brothers achieved the feat They were fitting champions, too, given that El Salvador’s Arevalo and Croatia’s Pavic didn’t lose a set the whole tournament. Their outings came mostly against predominantly singles players such as Korda and Thompson, who by contrast needed a pair of match tiebreaks along the way. Pavic became the only active men’s doubles player with 40 titles. Indian Wells had been the lone Masters stop where the 31-year-old had never made the final — and now he has the top prize. “It’s definitely a special one,” said Pavic. “I never made a final here, so that’s a first one for me, and yeah, you always dream to win any title, but especially Indian Wells. “It’s the so-called fifth Slam. You want to have that one in the books.” Call it special, too, for Arevalo, who was cheered on by fans hoisting flags of his home nation El Salvador at Stadium 1. “I’ve been coming here for maybe five, six years, and this was the first time I was able to play on center court. I remember watching matches up there and just imagined myself playing here,” the 34-year-old said, referring to higher up in the stadium. “Yesterday was actually the first time I played here in the warmup and the match, and that was the goal of the moment (to play on center court).  Now winning the title here, it went too far. I’m really grateful that we made it happen.” Pavic and Arevalo saved all four break points faced, all in the second set. The duo set the tone in the second game by creating three break points on the Thompson serve. Thompson and Korda hung on but couldn’t in the sixth game and trailed 4-2. Korda, close to the net and with time, pummelled a forehand long. Then Pavic engineered a potent forehand to prompt a Thompson error for the break. A point after a stunning backhand half volley passing shot, he erred on a forehand, then pulled his shirt over his head. The Floridian — watched by his Grand Slam winning dad, Petr, once again — took a toilet break when the first set ended. But on the first point of the second, he reacted late and his forehand volley found the net. Finals at this level are rarely straightforward and Thompson and  Korda did get their chances eventually, though. At 2-1, two break points came but were erased. Thompson drilled a ball at Pavic at the net. He didn’t catch it cleanly but his volley dribbled over and gave the speedy Aussie — a Grand Slam champion in doubles — little chance. An almost identical point saved the second break point. Arevalo and Pavic seized their opportunity, as a Pavic return got past Korda at the net for a break, 3-2. Korda couldn’t make the contact he hoped for on his return on break point in the ensuing game, and Pavic ripped a serve into the corner to fend off another break point at 4-3. Korda and Thompson missed out on a second Masters title together after winning in Madrid last year. “All the big points went your way because you do it every week, so congratulations,” Thompson said to Arevalo and Pavic during the trophy presentation. By BNP Paribas OpenThird annual FILA International Junior Championships kick off during second week Junior tennis is once again ready to take center stage in Indian Wells as the third annual FILA International Junior Championships will take place from March 10-16 as the second week of action at the BNP Paribas Open ramps up In collaboration with tournament partner FILA the junior event will spotlight the next generation of tennis stars and give promising young talent the chance to play on the same courts as the professionals in Indian Wells The support of this amateur event comes as part of FILA’s ongoing commitment to empowering the future of tennis The winners of this ITF Level 1 event will be awarded automatic qualifying wild cards into the 2026 BNP Paribas Open This prestigious amateur event will feature some of the best junior talents in the world 1 seed Jagger Leach – the son of Lindsay Davenport – as well as Cruz Hewitt – the son of 2003 Indian Wells champion Lleyton Hewitt fans should keep an eye on Southern California natives twin sisters and top two seeds Kristina Penickova and Annika Penickova who are fresh off capturing the junior doubles title at the 2025 Australian Open Past FILA International Junior champions include Clervie Ngounoue and Cooper Woestendick from 2023, and Valerie Glozman and Rudy Quan from 2024. Ngounoue qualified for this year’s 2025 BNP Paribas Open. The 2025 FILA International Junior Championships will feature a 48-person singles draw and 24-team doubles draw for both the boys and girls competition. All action will take places on Practice Courts 15-20 of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden from March 10-16, with the competition culminating with the championship matches in Stadium 2 on Sunday, March 16. Pegged back and frustrated in the early going, Andreeva rallied past World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 to become the youngest BNP Paribas Open champion since Serena Williams in 1999 and the third youngest in tournament history “I tried to run like a rabbit today,” giddy Andreeva said at the podium after receiving her trophy In an entertaining speech Andreeva comically thanked herself and apologized to her coach Conchita Martinez for misbehaving in the hours leading up to Sunday’s final that’s because I was super nervous – I’m sorry for that,” she said Andreeva is the youngest player to defeat the World No 1 in a WTA final since Maria Sharapova defeated Lindsay Davenport in Tokyo 2005 and the third player aged 17 or younger in the last 40 years to defeat the World No who also won a WTA 1000 title last month in Dubai stretched her current winning streak to 12 with the victory “I have a love-hate relationship with this place,” joked two-time runner-up Sabalenka congrats on an incredible run – great tournament Initially pushed back by Sabalenka’s penetrating depth intuitive Andreeva put her caginess on full display as she problem-solved her way into the match and came out on top of a final for the ages It was Sabalenka who started on the front foot dipping into her toolbox to befuddle Andreeva After the 26-year-old saved four break points in the third game leaving the teenager frustrated and wearing her angst at the conclusion of the 34-minute set Andreeva may have been frustrated but she wasn’t done fighting After missing out on three break points in her first return game of set two Andreeva lasered a forehand return winner down the line for her first break and a 2-1 lead bringing the crowd to full throat at the 51-minute mark From there the teenager turned up the volume on her creativity She mixed delicate touch with devastating pace moving the chess pieces around the board with a tactical and technical dexterity that took all the wind from Sabalenka’s sails a lightness of touch and a clarity of mind that belies her 17 years It was this combination of purity of shot and cleverness that enabled Andreeva to turn the tides the second with a miraculous sliding slice winner – an instant shot of the match candidate that got the crowd on its feet –  to hold for 4-2 she served out the set with authority to force a decider Andreeva weathered a sticky patch of three consecutive breaks of serve to lead 2-1 Managing a slim lead in the deciding set of a high-stakes final against a three-time major like Sabalenka is no small task A booming body serve brought a Sabalenka backhand error for a 5-3 lead another of her myriad impeccable defensive lobs forced Sabalenka error Money in the bank: she ripped a forehand winner closing the contest in two hours and four minutes Asked if she felt more relaxed in the second and third sets Andreeva admitted that her turnaround was not as easy as it looked “I didn't feel relaxed,” she told reporters in her champion’s press conference so I have to change something.’ I tried to really create something to make her uncomfortable holds the winner’s trophy at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Sunday during the final match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Sunday a 23-year-old from Britain who was seeded 13th at the hard-court tournament in the California desert built up a 21-7 advantage in winners against Rune while also making fewer unforced errors Draper’s left-handed serve was particularly important: He hit 10 aces won 21 of his 23 first-serve points and never allowed Rune to earn a single break point “You never know when it’s your time,” said Draper so I didn’t get to experience the tournament too much But I’d say this is one of my favorite tournaments now Rune is a 21-year-old from Denmark who was seeded 12th at Indian Wells Their matchup was the first ATP Masters 1000 final anywhere between two men born in the 2000s and the first at Indian Wells between two aged 23 or younger since Rafael Nadal but I have to start with congratulating Jack,” Rune said “You’ve been showing some incredible tennis and I put in a lot of work over time,” Draper said my body feeling healthy and to feel great in the mind.” Daniil Medvedev won the first four games of his match with American Tommy Paul on Tuesday then managed to rebound to win after Paul erased the double break at the BNP Paribas Open 6-0 win moved the Russian tennis star into the quarterfinals at Indian Wells for the third consecutive year Because of four rain delays that paused action on Tuesday the match between Medvedev and Paul didn’t start until 9:55 p.m on Stadium Court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden crowded into the lower bowl to watch the action "It was great crowd here," Medvedev said when interviewed courtside after the match won the next two games to close out the set Medvedev saved a break point and won the first game Medvedev went up a break to take a 2-0 lead in the set to take a 4-0 lead before holding serve to make it 5-0 “It was not an easy preparation," Medvedev said But I’m happy that I managed to raise my level in the match.” The match was a rematch of a semifinal meeting last year at Indian Wells but Paul won the most recent match between the two a win on Tuesday would've made Paul just the sixth American to reach back-to-back Indian Wells quarterfinals this century The five who've done that include Andre Agassi he's now 13-2 in his last 15 matches at the BNP Paribas Open He reached the finals at this event each of the last two years [This story has been updated to add new information.] off-again tennis at the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday continued into the evening but resumed for a fourth time just after 8:45 p.m with the longest being 3 hours and 6 minutes before stopping again just before 8:10 p.m Play was suspended earlier in the day with the first matches starting about an hour late before getting underway at 11:56 a.m a second delay started after a steady drizzle began to fall That delay lasted 50 minutes before play fully started back up at 2:10 p.m Play then resumed for almost two hours before a steadier rain moved in Eventually that rain stopped and dryers were rolled back and forth over the courts but turned out to be a false start as a light rain started back up and they were told to leave the court again the four rain delays have totaled 5 hours and 22 minutes throughout the day Tuesday Ten of the 22 main draw matches scheduled for Tuesday have been completed including two men's singles and two women's singles 23 seed Elina Svitolina had split sets with Pegula winning the first 7-5 Svitolina winning the second 6-1 and up 1-0 in the third a men's singles match between Marcos Giron of the U.S and France's Arthur Fils had just gotten started and was at 1-1 in the first set prior to the longest delay of more than three hours Some fans remained patient despite the delays who came from Phoenix to watch the tournament struck a positive tone while waiting for the match between Pegula and Svitolina to resume play after it was paused amid a tense third set.“We saw some good tennis,” Kemp said as she and her friend stood in the Stadium 2 concourse it’s out of our control.”Kemp said the climate is “usually hot and miserable” during the day adding it’s the first time she has seen so many delays caused by the desert rain in Indian Wells.“I’d like to see the end if possible,” Kemp said of Pegula’s match defending champion Iga Swiatek defeated Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-1 in 57 minutes to move into the quarterfinals but that was the only one of the 22 scheduled matches that was been successfully completed before the second delay Tuesday Tallon Griekspoor led Yosuke Watanuki 7-6 (4) 4-1 and both players seemed exasperated when told they would have to go into a delay so close to the potential conclusion of their match as Griekspoor won five of the next six points to win the match 7-6 (4) 6-1 and claim the first men's quarterfinal spot a men's singles match between eighth-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and 12th-seed Holger Rune played just five points before having to go back to the locker room Men's doubles matches being played on Stadium 3 and Stadium 4 also had been suspended midway through Fans with evening session tickets were allowed on the Indian Wells Tennis Garden grounds starting at 4:30 p.m Evening session patrons for Stadium 1 were allowed into the stadium to watch the completion of the Giron vs Arizona to the BNP Paribas Open with his wife assured him that "it never rains here," so he wasn't too concerned with the forecast that called for showers When the rain paused play just after 4 p.m. he found himself outside Stadium 1 waiting out the delay but we’re still here having a good time,” Osborne said “We’ve been to tournaments all over the world the first match of the day on Stadium 1 between Swiatek and Muchova did not put the first ball in play until 11:56 a.m Swiatek and Muchova had warmed up and were prepared to begin their match at 11 a.m when new showers started to fall and they quickly headed back to the locker rooms The videoboards on Stadium 1 read "Play suspended the courts dried and large swaths of blue sky could be seen above the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Swiatek and Muchova returned to the court at 11:47 a.m There was a comical moment during the delay on Stadium 2 when Griekspoor opened an umbrella to hold while he was sitting courtside and the wind blew it inside out He struggled to get it the correct way before a helpful ballboy took the umbrella put it upside down on the court and stepped on it to force it the right way Griekspoor smiled and gave a shrug as if to say "So that's how you do it." Showers moved into the Indian Wells area on Tuesday morning about two hours before the day's first matches Earlier in the tournament, five first-round evening matches were postponed last Thursday because of rain A total of 22 matches are on Tuesday's schedule including four Round of 16 men's matches and four more Round of 16 women's matches two women's doubles matches and four mixed doubles matches are scheduled Tuesday The National Weather Service in San Diego forecasts up to one-tenth of an inch of rain in the Coachella Valley on Tuesday Dry and sunny weather is predicted for Wednesday with a high temperature near 70 degrees a more significant storm system is forecasted to move into the Indian Wells area on Thursday that could bring rainfall up to one-half inch the BNP Paribas Open men's and women's quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday Drier weather is predicted for Friday and the weekend The tournament is scheduled to conclude Sunday with men's and women's singles championships The Desert Sun's Tom Coulter contributed to this report (This story has been updated with new information) The 11th-ranked Andreeva improved to 19-3 this season -- the most wins by a woman on tour -- and collected her second Masters 1000 title of 2025 which earned her a top-10 ranking for the first time Andreeva will return to that upper tier in Monday's WTA rankings Revisiting a theme from her Dubai victory speech that referred to something rapper Snoop Dogg said when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Andreeva told Sunday's crowd: "I would again like to thank myself for fighting until the end and for always believing in me and for never quitting." "I tried to run like a rabbit today," Andreeva continued praising the way Sabalenka hit speedy shots so I just tried my best and that's why I would thank myself because I think I played a little part [in the win] When she dropped the first set against three-time Grand Slam title winner Sabalenka Andreeva put her body into the windup after grabbing a ball and angrily smacked it toward the stands Andreeva -- wearing training tape on her right shoulder -- played much better in the second set that set belonged to her when she hit an ace to hold at love for the first time all day the teenager started in the best way possible breaking the big-serving Sabalenka at love Andreeva took a 1-0 lead in the third with a too-strong passing shot that Sabalenka Andreeva ended the match with one last forehand winner then dropped to her knees and covered her face with both hands This was her fifth consecutive victory over a top-10 opponent, and Andreeva is 9-5 against players ranked that high since the start of 2024. That includes two victories each over Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek the five-time major champion who lost to Andreeva in the semifinals at Indian Wells "Congrats on an incredible run," Sabalenka said during the trophy ceremony Andreeva is the first player under age 18 to beat the women ranked No. 1 and No. 2 at the same WTA tournament since Williams defeated Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open Teenager Mirra Andreeva crumpled to the ground in celebration after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final Sunday. AP Photo/Mark J. TerrillShe is also the youngest to win a WTA trophy by defeating the woman ranked No. 1 in a final since Maria Sharapova beat Davenport in Tokyo in 2005 Andreeva joked about her prematch behavior with her coach Sabalenka also lost the 2023 final in the California desert and made light of that Sunday when she was handed her glass hardware for being the runner-up -- a similar but much smaller version of what the champion receives "I have a love-hate relationship with this place," Sabalenka said "I'll just put this trophy on top of another one and pretend it's the trophy for winning." The Associated Press contributed to this report INDIAN WELLS -- The stadium court at the BNP Paribas Open was already fully cloaked in shadows late Monday afternoon shrieking exhales -- they were far too piercing to be called grunts -- more than filled it up With only a handful of onlookers beyond her team Sabalenka took savage cuts from the baseline trying to gauge the impact of a significant gusting wind She began to find her range toward the end of the practice session 1 began her season with 11 consecutive victories but she’s looking to create some momentum here at Indian Wells After taking the title in Brisbane and reaching the final at the Australian Open Sabalenka has dropped three of four matches “It’s been like three years I couldn’t do well in Middle East,” Sabalenka said Tuesday during media day because I went really far at the Australian Open so I was kind of like exhausted every time I’m in Middle East The consequential loss was that final in Melbourne when Sabalenka fell in three sets to Madison Keys Losses to Ekaterina Alexandrova (Doha) and Clara Tauson (Dubai) followed “It took me a week and maybe a little bit longer than that to stop thinking and to finally move on I’d say that lesson's learned and it’s in the past As an athlete you learn how to have a short memory Sabalenka has fashioned a sturdy 10-5 record at Indian Wells reaching the 2023 final before losing to Elena Rybakina What would it feel like to win here for the first time “[The] final I lost against Elena was also a tough match,” she said “I felt like I kind of lost that match on my own because I had a lot of crazy experience here at Indian Wells and I always wanted to win this tournament.” Here are three additional storylines to watch for heading into Wednesday’s first-round matches: Swiatek lost to Keys in Melbourne (in the semifinals) but unlike her rival at the top of tennis she has yet to win a title this year the last one came nearly a year ago at Roland Garros -- her fifth and last of 2024 has a history at Indian Wells -- a really good one She’s the defending champion and is going for her third title in four years With the tournament playing out its 36th edition Swiatek would be the first to win three crowns since 10 women have won twice; Victoria Azarenka is the only other active player to do it Swiatek is a towering 18-2 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden the best winning percentage since 1989 for players with a minimum of 15 matches It’s worth noting (no jinx intended) that the defending champion has never lost her opening match Swiatek gets the winner of the first-round match between Caroline Garcia and wild card Bernarda Pera All 32 seeded players have a first-round bye but look at these delicious potential second-round meetings: Caroline Garcia: Swiatek has a 4-1 career edge but the last two matches -- 2023 Beijing and the 2024 United Cup -- went three sets Emma Raducanu: If Raducanu can get past Moyuka Uchijima with Gauff winning their second-round match at the 2023 Australian Open Petra Kvitova: Provided the returning Kvitova takes care of Varvara Gracheva This is Kvitova’s 13th tour of duty in Indian Wells and she’s made the quarterfinals three times Belinda Bencic: Anisimova had a breakthrough win at the WTA Tour 1000 in Doha and Bencic continues her successful comeback after maternity leave Anisimova has won two of three matches against Bencic Naomi Osaka: This would be a heavyweight tilt taking the title by retirement in Auckland after Osaka lost the first set 6-4 Osaka -- a four-time Grand Slam singles champion -- must navigate her first-round match against Camila Osorio The tournament hasn’t even started and yet much is being made of an interesting tweak at the event sometimes called the fifth major The BNP Paribas Open has changed surface providers -- to Laykold from Plexipave Laykold is the surface in play at the Miami Open and US Open since 2020 Yosuke Watanuki made some kind of history Sunday evening on Stadium Court at the BNP Paribas Open the tennis player from Japan beat American Frances Tiafoe 7-6(6) in a gripping match to become the lowest-ranked player (349) since Tommy Haas in 2004 to reach the Round of 16 in the California desert is now the tournament director at Indian Wells and was on hand to watch the match with the crowd cheering on the 26-year-old past 10 p.m Watanuki will have a decent shot to go even a step further at this event He now faces unseeded Tallon Griekspoor on Tuesday Watanuki seemed a bit overwhelmed by the moment and could not stop smiling while being interviewed on court following the win He said the key to the win was to try to just enjoy the moment American Tommy Paul has moved into the third round at the BNP Paribas Open and if that sounds familiar has been in the main draw at Indian Wells five times now and every time he's won at least two matches He's made the fourth round twice and had his best performance last year when he reached the semifinals On Sunday Paul earned a straight-set win over 2021 BNP Paribas Open champion Cam Norrie 6-3 which has become Paul's private playground over the last couple of years 5 seed from Russia who advanced when rising American Alex Michelsen retired because of illness Alexei PopyrinThe American loves his hometown tournament so much that he doesn't want to leave Marcos Giron won again Sunday to move into the Round of 16 It's the first time in his career he has reached the fourth round at a Masters 1000 event who is 10-4 this year and has reached three quarterfinals native is the oldest remaining player in the men's field despite only being 31 The old man will play for a quarterfinal trip on Tuesday against No Matteo BerrettiniWhile four of the top seven men's players lost their opening match of this tournament 8 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas may be flying under the radar Tsitsipas had his second consecutive straight-set win having won his most recent tournament in Dubai The talented Greek player has not had many deep runs in Indian Wells in the past He made the quarterfinal in 2021 and the fourth round last year but his other four trips to the desert have ended early But it's so far so good in 2025 as he appears to be playing some of his best tennis is into the Round of 16 after a slow start Sunday He lost the first set before rebounding to win reached the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open last year kept his 2025 BNP Paribas Open run alive with a straight-set win over the No Next up for Griekspoor will be Yosuke Watanuki Alexander Zverev had hoped for a deep run in the men's draw of the BNP Paribas Open as the No What Zverev got was a long match and a quick exit from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden In a match that lasted three hours and seven minutes saw both players serving for the match at different times and featured two entertaining and grueling tiebreakers Zverev's stay in the desert ended in his first match with a 4-6 7-6 (5) loss to the Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor Zverev served for the match at 6-5 in the second set but Griekspoor broke Zverev's serve to force a tiebreaker and win the breaker 7-5 The high level of tennis was maintained in the third set with the players exchanging breaks of serve early in the set With Griekspoor serving 6-5 after another break of serve finally winning the game to set up another tiebreaker More: Vote for biggest BNP upsets Biggest upsets ever at Indian Wells? Here's our top 10 and you can vote for your top upsets In the tiebreaker, Zverev served consecutive aces to take a 3-2 lead. But Griekspoor responded to each challenge with his own big shots, eventually taking the tiebreaker and the match when a Zverev forehand flew wide of the court, sending Griekspoor to his knees from joy and fatigue. The win was just Griekspoor's second in eight matches against Zverev, and the first time Griekspoor has beaten a player ranked in the top 5. For Zverev, he becomes the first No. 1 seed to lose his opening match at the BNP Paribas Open since 2017 when Andy Murray fell to Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 7-6 (5). Griekspoor was delighted to finally find a way to beat Zverev. "I lost to him five times last year. All of them were close. All of them I had chances and so it took some effort to get this over the line," Griekspoor said to the crowd of around 15,000 after the match. "I'm incredibly proud, such a mental thing to beat him. It was such a mental thing finally to happen and to get it out of the way." One of those losses to Zverev for Griekspoor last year was at the French Open, when Griekspoor held a 4-1 lead with two breaks in the fifth set, only for Zverev to rally for the win. Griekspoor came to Indian Wells in decent form, having reached the semifinals in Dubai last month, beating No. 6 Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals. Zverev, on the other hand, struggled in recent weeks on a circuit of clay-court events in South America, playing poorly and fighting illnesses. "I can sit here and have excuses, but at the end of the day, I'm just not playing good tennis at the moment. It's as simple as that," Zverev said. "I'm not playing a level that I want to play, definitely not playing anywhere near what I played in Australia (a finals loss to Jannik Sinner). This is the end result of, I don't know, maybe Australian Open. But I'm just I'm just disappointed with my game. That's No. 1 thing for me." Friday's result was a huge upset no matter the buildup, with Zverev ranked second in the world and Griekspoor ranked 43rd. Zverev looked like a top seed in the first set, falling behind 1-2 but winning 6-4. But Griekspoor won the first three games of the second set and led 5-2 before Zverev rallied. Zverev won four consecutive games to take a 6-5 and served for the match. But Griekspoor earned one of his five breaks of serve to force the tiebreaker. The third set was much the same, with Griekspoor fighting double faults but serving aces and Zverev seeming to chase Griekspoor throughout the set. Zverev finally held a 5-4 lead but Griekspoor won the next two games and served for the match. In a 21-point game, Griekspoor couldn't convert on his five match points, with both players hitting winners and serving well. "He played a good match. There's no question about that," Zverev said. "But I have to look at myself a little bit, and it's nowhere near where I want to be." (This story has been updated with additional information) By BNP Paribas Open*Venus Williams Wild Card Update (February 23 Venus Williams has informed the tournament that she will not be competing at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open A Message From Tournament Director Tommy Haas: “Our team has been informed that Venus is not accepting the wild card this year We wish Venus all the best and hope to see her back in Indian Wells in the future.” Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon Champion (2011, 2014) and has reached as high as World No. 2 in her career that has spanned nearly two decades. Kvitova will make her 13th career appearance in the desert after a 15-month absence from competition following the birth of her first child. Kvitova has reached the quarterfinal in Indian Wells three times, including in her most recent appearance in 2023. The full list of 2025 wild cards will be announced closer to the start of the tournament. By Ravi UbhaAfter qualifying filled the air of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday it’s time for main draw action to start at the BNP Paribas Open here are five things to watch on a busy Day 1 of first round action Petra Kvitova is on the comeback trail for a happy reason — she gave birth to son Petr The two-time Wimbledon champion told the WTA that her love for the sport brought her back basically,” the soon-to-be 35-year-old said to the WTA But I think I would have regretted it if I didn’t come back I will never play as good as I was playing when I was winning tournaments evidenced by two Grand Slam titles each at the US Open and Australian Open (including in 2019 when the Japanese power base-liner edged Kvitova in a thriller) Osaka hasn’t played since the Australian Open, where she retired against Belinda Bencic — another mom back on tour — with a lingering abdominal injury Osaka won her lone previous match against Wednesday’s opponent, Camila Osorio Racing out to a 5-0 lead against the Colombian counter-puncher set the tone Osorio will hope for a better start under the Stadium 1 lights The last time Reilly Opelka played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden he pushed a now retired member of the “Big 3,” Rafael Nadal Two months ago, the 6-foot-11 Florida resident with the mammoth serve did beat another member of the “Big 3,” Novak Djokovic And it wasn’t just the serve that troubled Djokovic that night in Brisbane the 2021 Canadian Masters finalist endured an injury nightmare a more serious wrist injury developed and also affected his entire serving arm The man who’ll be up against those big serves at Stadium 1 is 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Roman Safiullin They all played at last year’s Next Gen Finals The dovetailing continues as all three feature in the main draw in Indian Wells The dominos will have to fall in the right way but Basavareddy and Michelsen could even duel in the third round Basavareddy — who took a set off Djokovic in his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open — won’t be looking past his first opponent at Stadium 1, though. China’s Yunchaokete Bu is The hard-hitting baseliner — also making his Indian Wells debut — rocketed up the rankings last year and tested top 10 regulars Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz in consecutive tournaments in February Michelsen beat Bu in three sets in Acapulco last week after Bu couldn’t serve out the match in set two When it comes to Indian Wells history, Peyton Stearns won’t soon be forgotten The former University of Texas standout took part in one of the most memorable matches, holding four match points — including three straight on her own serve — against Aryna Sabalenka 12 months ago “This match definitely goes into the book of craziest matches and the best matches of my career,” said Sabalenka Stearns’ ranking has climbed from 64th back then to its current 44th and in between the 23-year-old won her first title in Rabat last May after pulling off her own huge comebacks in the quarterfinals and semifinals Stearns plays Grand Slam semifinalist Magda Linette at Stadium 2 in the pair’s first meeting It almost doesn't feel real what Jack Draper accomplished this week at Indian Wells Having never even appeared in a Masters 1000 final the rising tennis star from Great Britain made one of the most impressive runs through the draw at the BNP Paribas Open and on Sunday capped it with a decisive 6-2 6-2 win in the final over Denmark's Holger Rune Draper fell to his knees and raised his hands to the sky He later said that it was the culmination of years of hard work Draper will make his top 10 debut and at 23 years and two months he’ll become the second-youngest player from Great Britain to break inside the top 10 in PIF ATP Rankings history Murray was a month shy of his 20th birthday when and also to win my first Masters title," Draper said "Just adds to my inner belief and my confidence." This was only Draper's third appearance at Indian Wells with his game last year and that his serve was struggling It felt like a 180 degree turn a year later "Feels incredible to win here," Draper said "I have been watching this tournament since I was a young guy watching all the champions play on this big court [More: BNP Paribas Open continues drawing fans from all over the world] Draper's breakthrough came during a historic two weeks for the BNP Paribas Open The tournament set a new attendance record for the event with 504,268 spectators visiting the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Draper beat a staggering list of high-level players to even reach the BNP Paribas Open final He beat Brazilian rising star João Fonseca in his first match before beating American Jenson Brooksby next He then beat two of the top three Americans third-seeded Taylor Fritz and 11th-seeded Ben Shelton he managed to break Carlos Alcaraz’s 16-match win streak at this event denying Alcaraz a chance at his third consecutive title at this event Draper immediately went up a break in the first game of the match held serve and then went up a double break to take a quick 3-0 lead in the first set increasing the speed on his forehand to 83 mph in the early set Draper managed to hold his serve through the set while converting on 3-of-5 break point opportunities He recorded seven aces and did not face a single break point while closing the first set in 30 minutes He immediately went up a break while dictating the play and controlling the match from the middle of the court He continued to ride the wave of confidence that had surely swelled this week at Indian Wells Draper did not face a single break point in the second set and cruised to a victory that felt dominant "Jack played an amazing tournament," Rune said But I think I could have done my part better The opportunities I had to play aggressive just weren't good enough." was the fastest men's singles finals at Indian Wells in at least a decade It was faster than the 77-minute final in 2016 which was the previous fastest in recent years at this event Rune won the only previous match between the two last year at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati The final was the first between players aged 23-and-under at Indian Wells since a 22-year-old Rafael Nadal defeated a 21-year-old Andy Murray in the 2009 final and the first at a Masters 1000 level event since Tsitsipas defeated 22-year-old Davidovich Fokina at 2022 Monte Carlo top-ranked Jannik Sinner has the most wins on the ATP Tour it's a bit unbelievable that Draper would beat the two players in Alcaraz and Fritz who won the last three Indian Wells titles en route to winning his own Maybe this is the start of something special for the Brit I have put in years and years and years of working I just tried to look around and just take it all in and just experience the intense feeling of being the winner here and the success that I worked so hard for." 3 Coco Gauff of the United States moved into the BNP Paribas Open Round of 16 for the third straight year with a 7-6(1) Gauff took 1 hour and 35 minutes to overcome Sakkari who is one of the strongest Indian Wells players of recent years Sakkari is a two-time finalist at the BNP Paribas Open "It was a bit tricky conditions," Gauff said in her post-match press conference "I think we were both struggling a little bit with finding the rhythm and I was just trying to stay solid on my end of the court." Indian Wells: Draws | Scores | Order of play Another quality foe awaits: The 2023 US Open champion Gauff, who turns 21 years old later this week, will meet resurgent new mom Belinda Bencic in the Round of 16. Bencic ousted No. 13 seed Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-4 on Monday. Bencic, the former World No. 4 and 2021 Olympic gold medalist, has had a stellar return from maternity leave so far this year, already picking up a title in Abu Dhabi. However, Gauff is 2-1 against Bencic, including a win this year in the Australian Open Round of 16. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WTA (@wta) Gauff getting back on track: Monday's result marked a much-needed win for Gauff over a former Top 3 player. Gauff is still seeking her first singles semifinal of the year (excluding the United Cup team event). After starting the year 9-0 (including leading the United States to the United Cup title and making the Australian Open quarterfinals), Gauff went 0-2 in February's Middle East swing, then barely got past 52nd-ranked Moyuka Uchijima in her Indian Wells opener. "It's tennis, it's ups and downs," Gauff said. "Sometimes you lose matches that you probably could have won, and you win matches that you definitely shouldn't have won. At the end of the day, you'll hopefully win more of those matches than lose." Moreover, Sakkari has been one of Gauff's most challenging opponents on tour. Despite the victory for Gauff this time around, Sakkari has still won five of their nine career meetings, including in the semifinals here last year. But Gauff steeled herself during the tail end of a close first set on Monday. The first four games of the encounter went against serve, but Gauff had the first real chance, holding a set point on the Sakkari serve at 5-4. Sakkari, though, erased that opportunity and the pair moved into a decisive tiebreak. Both players came into today with 2-0 tiebreak records in 2025 -- in fact, Gauff needed one to finish off her opening win this week over Uchijima. It was here where Gauff took charge against Sakkari, dominating the breaker to grit out the pivotal one-set advantage. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WTA (@wta) Gauff brought that momentum into the second set but Sakkari stayed in the mix the whole way through The Greek forced Gauff into an extremely nervy final game and the American had to stave off four break points during Sakkari's last push mostly kept those at bay on Monday -- that is until she hit four when serving for the match she drew errors from Sakkari to keep the game going then finally converted her sixth match point to seal the deal Gauff becomes the youngest American woman to make the Round of 16 at Indian Wells for three years in a row since Serena Williams (1999-2001) Play has been suspended for the evening for all five remaining matches at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after rain started to fall for a second time Thursday evening the tournament announced that play was over for the evening and the matches would resume Friday The adjusted Friday order of play will include the five suspended matches Those matches will follow completion of the opening 11 a.m The updated order of play can be seen below More: Friday's schedule BNP Paribas Open: Friday order of play includes high seeds Alexander Zverev, Iga Świątek Play was briefly stopped the first time in four of the five matches after rain drops started falling around 8:20 p.m. Thursday on the second day of main draw competition for men and women. On Stadium 2, only a few sprinkles were falling so the match between Mariano Navone and 19-year-old American Learner Tien continued. Tien lost the first set, 7-5. After a 15-minute delay, action resumed on all courts. But the rain returned around 8:45 p.m., and players on all five courts returned to the locker rooms. Matches began at 11 a.m. Thursday under a mix of sun, clouds and gusty wind, but as the afternoon wore on the clouds looked more threatening. A total of 33 singles matches and seven doubles matches were scheduled for Thursday. Thirty-four matches had already been completed, including one that carried over from late Wednesday because of rain. The weather forecast calls for a 30% chance of showers continuing Thursday evening. Sunshine is expected to return Friday and temperatures are expected to rise into the 70s on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. and that was the case on Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden In warm conditions with a light breeze blowing inside Stadium 1, the surging Greek blew by Italy’s Matteo Berrettini for the second time in two months 6-3 to reach the round of 16 and stretch his current winning streak to seven victories It’s been halcyon days for Tsitsipas of late He recently claimed his 12th career title in Dubai (where he took out Berrettini in three sets in the semifinals) which served notice to the rest of the tour that the ninth-ranked Greek is once again on the up after a prolonged period of struggle that included a first-round loss at this year’s Australian Open Tsitsipas has continued to play elevated tennis in the California desert Tsitsipas was masterful from the service stripe losing just eight points on serve from his seven service games against the 29th-ranked Italian He never faced a break point and he was quick to get to his forehand in the rallies He cracked 11 forehand winners to just three for Berrettini "First of all I’m pleased with the way that I handled my serve I felt like I managed to win a lot of points with my serve-plus-one I’m just pleased that my risks rewarded me." In the second set he won the final four games breaking for 4-3 and then punctuating his imperious display with a break at love in the final game He feathered an unplayable forehand volley winner that closed the contest in one hour and eight minutes Tsitsipas will face either Holger Rune or Ugo Humbert in the round of 16 so the only thing I can do is try to continue to search for solutions," Medvedev said after making the escape who snapped a three-match losing streak against Norrie and notched his 50th career Masters 1000 victory Paul improved to 13-4 lifetime at Indian Wells with his win After opening up a 4-0 lead in 15 minutes on the former World No 1 in last year’s second men’s singles semifinal on Stadium 1 Paul took the opening set and was still holding the upper hand in the second-set tiebreak Up 3-2 in said breaker, the American turned his left ankle after launching himself into the air to hit a forehand, and was never the same. Paul had his ankle strapped between sets and Daniil Medvedev pounced right at the start of the third to claim the victory “Tommy just showed everyone how to beat me full power,” Medvedev said after the match so the only thing I could do is try to continue to search for solutions.”  Paul would exact a bit of revenge on his rival when he ended Medvedev’s title defense with a 6-1 6-4 victory in the round of 16 two months later but Paul probably feels he still has a bit of unfinished business despite all the success he has had over the last few years “I’m going back to work,” he said in an interview with Tennis Channel on Sunday after defeating former champion Cameron Norrie to reach the round of 16 just trying to improve on everything a little bit to try and move up the rankings even more.”  thinks that his charge is still very much at the beginning of a climb that he hopes will continue this week in Southern California “There are still a lot of things within the sport that he hasn’t been able to accomplish yet,” Stine told BNPParibas.com of the man he has coached since 2020 but he hasn’t won a Masters 1000 – I think he’s capable of doing that.”  Two-time BNP Paribas Open runner-up Medvedev is angling to get his season back on track 1 says that he and Paul’s styles cancel one another out All the more reason for fans to get excited about a grudge match that could turn into a war of attrition as Paul and Medvedev are two of the three highest-ranked players in their half of the draw It wouldn’t be surprising at all to find the winner of Tuesday’s headliner to take his place in Sunday’s final in the California Desert “I definitely expect a great match,” Medvedev previewed and here it was a crazy match at Indian Wells [last year] I feel like our games connect in a way where I do think it’s tough to play each other “It’s a tough matchup but I’m looking forward to it.”  he cried as the crowd roared with admiration "Winning this tournament is one of those crazy childhood dreams that you really think is never going to happen," he said as tears streamed down his face It was the biggest victory in Fritz's career propelling him to a then-career-high ranking of No 13 and cementing his spot as the top-ranked American man He told reporters later that afternoon that sharing the court with Nadal was "insane" and that his new goal was to reach the top 10 is back at the BNP Paribas Open propelled by momentum and ambition -- and beginning with a title quest at the site of his breakthrough it becomes so much easier for me to start doing it again and again and again and then it's on to the next thing," Fritz told ESPN recently "Obviously the ultimate goal is to win a Grand Slam but I'm also really focused on wanting to win some [other] big titles this year." Fritz won the Indian Wells title in 2022. AP Photo/Mark J TerrillWhile these goals might sound daunting high expectations are nothing new for Fritz a former top-10 player on the WTA Tour and three-time major quarterfinalist also a professional player and an accomplished coach After winning the 2015 US Open boys title and reaching the top ranking among juniors Fritz has long been considered one of the country's best hopes to snap the now 21-year men's major title drought And his early results on tour only fueled such optimism Fritz reached the final in the third ATP tournament of his career and became the youngest American man to reach a tour final since Michael Chang in 1988 and made his top-25 debut the following month He notched his first Masters 1000-level semifinal appearance at Indian Wells in 2021 but it was his surprising triumph the following year that really changed everything He had nearly withdrawn from the final with an ankle injury just hours before the match began yet became a champion at the tournament he had grown up attending as a fan -- and against one of the game's greats "I don't want to get ahead of myself," Fritz said at the time My goal for the last couple months has been top 10 Obviously I'd love to go way higher than that and achieve way more than that He reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinals less than four months later at Wimbledon Fritz won two titles in 2023 and made his US Open quarterfinal debut Then everything truly came together last season and became the first American man to make the second week at every major since Andre Agassi in 2003 reaching the quarterfinals at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon He followed it by finishing the year with another final appearance at the ATP Finals "Reaching both of those finals just gave me confidence and the reassurance and belief that I belong there and deserve to be there," Fritz said firmly cemented Fritz's status as the top American man It also lit a fire for the rest of his compatriots "To see Fritz reach that [US Open] final was awesome," Paul who has been a friend since childhood and is ranked No When one of us [top Americans] does well in a tournament we all then know in the back of our head that we can do it too "I feel like Fritz had been that guy for all American tennis over the past eight years or so Fritz is currently ranked a career-high No 4 in the world. Chris Arjoon/Icon SportswireOne thing that hasn't changed for Fritz His level of fame and his desire -- or lack thereof -- for the spotlight who spends much of his downtime playing video games said he only gets recognized by "true" tennis fans "I don't really leave my place too often." But Fritz said he was far from "panic mode," and committed to staying the course. "I felt really confident [entering the new season]. I felt like I was playing good tennis, and I still think that," Fritz said. "The Australian Open loss doesn't really hurt me as bad as I think some losses would because I still felt like I played pretty well in the match. I didn't necessarily lose because I didn't play well. I lost because my opponent played really well, and that happens sometimes. "It's easy for me to keep my confidence up and I know that the results and everything will come if I just keep playing." And Fritz hopes it all comes together -- his high-level of play and the results -- at Indian Wells once again. Whoever the singers were that Milli Vanilli pretended to be said it best back in the '80s: "Gotta blame it on somethin'. Blame it on the rain." Rain, which is coveted by our desert the other 50 weeks of the year, is a downright bummer when it happens during the two weeks of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells. It causes tiresome delays, it flummoxes the schedule, it confuses ticket-buyers and it hampers the players' ability to stick to the rhythm they like before matches. Rain was to blame for all those things on Tuesday at the BNP, and all signs point to another desert dousing on Thursday. So as I sat around for five hours of delays and watched the hard-working crews at the Tennis Garden repeatedly have to dry off the courts Tuesday, I had a few questions about slippery courts. I asked them. And I got answers from the fine folks in the media director's office. Who has the final say as to when the courts are deemed dry enough to play on, or not quite dry enough yet? Tournament director Tommy Haas? The players? That match's umpire? No. No. And No. The answer is Gerry Armstrong. He is the tournament-wide referee, and he makes the final call with consultation from tour supervisors. Why are the white lines so slippery? Players always test the white lines. Ballkids are always having to foot-drag towels along the white lines to double-dry them. Why are the white lines more slippery than say the purple court? The white lines don't have the same texture as the purple court or the green exterior of the playing surface. The purple and green parts are gritty and a little bit sandy, so they provide great traction for the players. The white lines don't have that sandy grit to them. They are smoother. An obvious follow-up question might be, "Why not?" but we'll save that for another day. So I watched people drying off the courts Tuesday with a large flat white device that they walked behind and pushed slowly that seemed to work wonders. Does that have like long multiple squeegies under it, or is it actually drying the courts by blowing hot air on them like a big hair dryer in some way? Nope, Shad, wrong again. The court dryers are called VAPTRs and there is no heat involved in what they do and no squeegie material. Underneath those contraptions are something more like a rapidly spinning mop that absorbs the water as you push it. So there you have it. I certainly learned a few things. And I got the answers from a reliable source, so I guess, just like the singers that Milli Vanilli pretended to be also said: "Girl, you know it's true." Shad Powers is a sports columnist for The Desert Sun and strangely obsessed with Milli Vanilli. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com. the son of three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport and Jon Leach claimed the Boys’ singles and doubles titles at the third annual FILA International Junior Championships a hard-hitting right-hander with a wicked flat backhand Top-seeded Leach came through a tense tussle with No.2-seeded Kennedy out on Stadium 3 breaking open a tight first set by taking the final two games a quarterfinalist in the Australian Open Boys’ tournament in January made it tough for Leach with his intensity and fine-tuned counterpunching skills but ultimately the 17-year-old Southern Californian found his way to the title On the Girls’ side it was 16-year-old Julieta Pareja who stormed to the title 5 seed took out American qualifier Alexis Nguyen to win a SoCal Pro Series title when she raised the hardware in Rancho Santa Fe as a 15-year-old This earned Pareja a wild card to compete in the 2025 BNP Paribas Open qualifying tournament Americans Leena Friedman and Thea Frodin took the Girls’ doubles title 6-1 7-6(9) over compatriots Maria Aytoyan and Sabrina Lin Leach and Noah Johnston topped fellow Americans Andrew Johnson and Nischal Spurling Men's and women's quarterfinal singles play in the BNP Paribas Open got underway at 11:15 a.m despite morning rain Thursday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Rain that moved into the Indian Wells area early Thursday morning had stopped and the courts were dry as of 10 a.m Defending women's champion Iga Swiatek served under sunshine in the first of four women's quarterfinals A total of 14 matches are on Thursday's main draw schedule including four men's quarterfinals and four women's quarterfinals This could mark the third day of the 15-day tournament where tennis action has been affected because of rain. On Tuesday, four rain delays totaled 5 hours and 22 minutes with the final match ending just shy of midnight More: How to dry the BNP tennis courts Answering key questions about drying the tennis courts after rain at the BNP Paribas Open The National Weather Service says rain is likely across the Coachella Valley until 11 a.m. with smaller rain chances in the afternoon Up to a quarter of an inch of rain is possible winds could gust as high as 25 miles per hour on Thursday The forecast calls for rain to move out of the Indian Wells area by later Thursday but gusty winds to continue into the overnight History is on the side of at least some tennis being played Thursday the last time a full day of play was lost because of rain was in 1980 when the semifinals and finals were rained out The weather forecast is brighter for Friday with mostly sunny skies and a high near 63 degrees Strong west winds could still gust as high as 25 mph More: How many visit from outside U.S. 'An amazing experience': Indian Wells is drawing crowds from around the country and beyond INDIAN WELLS, Calif -- Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova lost a tight three-setter in the opening round of Indian Wells on Wednesday, falling 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to France's Varvara Gracheva The loss leaves Kvitova searching for her first win since returning to the tour following the birth of her first child in July She also lost in the first round in Austin last week in her first tournament following a 16-month absence who was granted a wild card for the BNP Paribas Open grabbed the first set as both players struggled to control their serve on a cloudy and breezy day on Stadium One court Gracheva settled in to level the match and jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the deciding set winning three straight games to take a 4-3 lead in the third Gracheva, who next faces Russian teenage phenomenon Mirra Andreeva said she wanted to congratulate Kvitova for juggling the demands of motherhood and being a professional athlete "Because she had a child quite recently and I'm so happy that she now has the role of a mother and a tennis player which is very demanding," Gracheva said in an on-court interview Victoria Azarenka of Belarus battled past American Clervie Ngounoue 6-4 7-6 (7) to get her campaign for a third Indian Wells crown off to a winning start INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Tallon Griekspoor upset No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev 4-6 7-6 (4) in a marathon second-round clash Friday at the BNP Paribas Open Griekspoor collapsed on the court after converting his sixth match point to end an absorbing 3-hour 7-minute affair under sunny skies on Stadium One court It was Griekspoor's first win over a top-five opponent in 19 attempts "Finally," Griekspoor wrote with a smiley face on the TV camera lens after the hard-fought victory Zverev served for the match in the second set but didn't get it over the line and Griekspoor won the second-set tiebreaker to force a decider Griekspoor failed to convert five match points while serving up 6-5 in the third but regrouped to win the deciding tiebreak The 28-year-old from the Netherlands improved to 2-6 against Zverev I lost to him five times last year and had absolute heartbreak at Roland Garros where I was up a double break in the fifth," Griekspoor said "I played so many battles against him and had chances I am incredibly proud of myself from this performance Griekspoor, ranked No. 43, will face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the third round The loss came eight days after Zverev also was the top seed when he was upset by American teenager Learner Tien 6-3 Zverev has struggled with his form since losing to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final in January "I'm just not playing good tennis at the moment It's as simple as that," he told reporters "I'm not playing a level that I want to play definitely not playing anywhere near what I played in Australia Zverev, who trails Sinner in the rankings and will remain at No. 2 even if No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz defends his Indian Wells title "I have to find a way to make that happen." Fourth seed Casper Ruud fell to American Marcos Giron 7-6 (4) Giron was ecstatic after shocking the Norwegian leaping into the air and shouting as the crowd erupted when he reached the third round of the tournament for a second time It will be one I look back on with amazing memories," Giron said "To do it here at my favorite tournament is special It was the tournament I came to when I was younger In other men's results Friday, Tommy Paul, the No. 10 seed, eased past fellow American Tristan Boyer 6-3 6-1 in front of packed stands on court three who reached the semifinals at Indian Wells last year was among the players who fell ill because of a stomach bug last month at the Mexican Open in Acapulco Paul next faces Britain's Cameron Norrie, who defeated 23rd seed Jiri Lehecka 3-6 No. 8 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas failed to convert his first match point while his opponent was down on the court but ultimately prevailed 6-2, 6-4 over Thiago Seyboth Wild Holger Rune, seeded 12th, will face 18th-seeded Ugo Humbert in the third round after they both enjoyed straight-sets victories Friday Daniil Medvedev, a finalist the past two years, made quick work of Yunchaokete Bu with a straight-sets win very fast court," Medvedev wrote on the TV camera lens -- a reference to his ongoing complaints that the hard courts at Indian Wells are too slow even after they were resurfaced for this year's competition The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report