Newsletter | Indian Wells 2025 Begins

Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are the defending champions as the tour heads to the Californian desert

By Stephen Higgins | 5th March 2025

Indian Wells walkway
Indian Wells, sometimes known as the ‘fifth grand slam’, has a new surface | Mike Campion

Indian Wells starts today and while shorn of Jannik Sinner, the tournament still packs a bumper draw. And a new surface!

Long known for its slow hard courts that rewarded the likes of three-time champion Rafael Nadal, tournament organisers have switched from Plexipave to Laykold this year, the company that provides the surfaces for both Miami and the US Open.

Theoretically, that should make Indian Wells play faster than before but player opinions are mixed (as ever). While Aryna Sabalenka said “I love them”, Daniil Medvevdev feels they are “almost slower than before.” I guess we can all make a judgement when the tournament kicks off.

Speaking of which, the draws are out and there should be drama throughout.

Starting with the men’s, Alexander Zverev is top seed and he finds himself in a difficult quarter with a potential opener against Talon Griekspoor or Miomi Kecmanovic. He also won’t enjoy the company of recent tour champions Stefanos Tsitsipas and Tomas Machac, Matteo Berrettini, Holger Rune, and the powerful Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his section.

In the bottom quarter, we find defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and the five-time winner, Novak Djokovic. Will the Spaniard gain revenge for that Australian Open loss? Alex de Minaur, Denis Shapovalov and Nick Kyrgios add further spice to that section.

Meanwhile, the second quarter is led by Casper Ruud, Tommy Paul and last year’s finalist, Medvedev. In the remaining quarter, there should be plenty of fun with Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev, Ben Shelton, Jack Draper, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Joao Fonseca involved.

Moving onto the women’s side, both Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek will want to move on from a disappointing February in the Gulf.

The world no.1 and 2023 finalist will be wary of a potential opener with the surging Mccartney Kessler. She also won’t like the sight of Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat the Belarusian in Doha, in her vicinity.

As for Swiatek, the defending champion has landed in a quarter of players looking to recover top form. There, she’s joined by Qinwen Zheng, Karolina Muchova and Ons Jabeur.

Elsewhere, there are two thrilling quarters to enjoy. In the second, we have Australian Open winner Madison Keys, Coco Gauff, Mérida titlist Emma Navarro, Belinda Bencic and Amanda Anisimova.

As for the third, how about this for a list of names: Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, Mirra Andreeva, Jelena Ostapenko, Clara Tauson, Danielle Collins, Elina Svitolina…plus Naomi Osaka and the returning Petra Kvitova?!

This could be a cracking Indian Wells, particularly as players adjust to (hopefully) faster playing conditions.

In this section, I dig out an image from my vault of photos taken at various tournaments on tour.

Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon 2023

After taking maternity leave, it’s great to see Petra Kvitova return to the professional tour. In her first match back at Austin last week, the 34-year-old lost in three sets to Jodie Burrage. Given her legendary firepower, it would not be a surprise to see the Czech add another title to her incredible haul (31) before the racquets are hung up. This was taken at Wimbledon in 2023.