The most prestigious tennis tournament outside of the four slams is currently underway in the U.S. state of California.
Here’s what you need to know about what’s happening at Indian Wells.
De Minaur into final 16
Alex de Minaur has sailed into the fourth round of Indian Wells with a straight-sets win over Poland’s world no.22 Hubert Hurkacz.
De Minaur is the sole Australian remaining in either the men’s or women’s singles draw.
In the Round of 16, he will face Argentinian 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo.
De Minaur and Cerundolo have met once before, in the Round of 32 at this year’s Australian Open. The Aussie won the match in four sets.
Men’s singles
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The absence of world number one Jannik Sinner, serving a three-month doping ban, has given the other players on tour an opportunity to claim victory at tennis’ “fifth major”.
Novak Djokovic made an early exit from the tournament with a loss in three sets to giant-killer Botic van de Zandschulp. The five-time Indian Wells champion has not made it past the quarterfinals since 2016. Djokovic described Saturday’s loss as “a bad day in the office”.
The tournament’s top seed in Sinner’s absence, Germany’s Alexander Zverev, was also sent home early by a Dutch underdog. Zverev lost in a third-set tiebreak to Tallon Griekspoor in the round of 64.
Carlos Alcaraz is the tournament’s second seed and two-time defending champion. He remains the favourite to win Indian Wells for a third consecutive time after defeating Canada’s Denis Shapovalov today in the third round.
Women’s singles
The women’s singles tournament has seen the usual suspects breeze through the early rounds, with most of the top ten seeds all progressing through to the Round of 16.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Świątek are the top two seeds and favourites to win the tournament, having not dropped a set so far. Poland’s Świątek is a two-time winner at Indian Wells and the defending champion. Sabalenka’s best result at Indian Wells came in 2023 when she lost to Elena Rybakina in the final. Rybakina is the seventh seed at this year’s tournament and has made a strong start despite some coaching drama earlier this year.
Australia’s top-ranked women’s player, Kimberley Birrell, was knocked out in the second round by Belgium’s 28th seed Elise Mertens.
