Indian Wells Draw: Osaka and Stephens set for blockbuster first-round clash

Naomi Osaka, the 2018 champion, and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens will face off in a blockbuster first-round match at the BNP Paribas Open, which begins Wednesday. The draw was released on Monday. 

Main Draw | Order of Play

Potential Round of 16 by seeding:

[33] Alize Cornet* vs. [16] Coco Gauff
[11] Emma Raducanu vs. [7] Karolina Pliskova
[3] Iga Swiatek vs. [15] Angelique Kerber
[12] Elina Svitolina vs. [8] Garbiñe Muguruza

[5] Paula Badosa vs. [10] Jelena Ostapenko
[14] Jessica Pegula vs. [4] Anett Kontaveit
[6] Maria Sakkari vs. [9] Ons Jabeur
[13] Victoria Azarenka vs. [2] Aryna Sabalenka

* Top seed Barbora Krejcikova withdrew from the tournament after the draw was made, citing an elbow injury. As a result, the next player to be seeded, Alizé Cornet, moves into Krejcikova's top line in the draw. 

Top Half: The Pliskova quarter

With World No.2 Krejcikova's withdrawal, Karolina Pliskova now sits as the highest seed in the top quarter. The World No.8 has been sidelined with a hand injury since the pre-season and is seeded No.7. Pliskova will face either Danka Kovinic or last year's Cincinnati finalist, Jil Teichmann. 

This quarter also features 2015 champion Simona Halep, US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff, who will be celebrating her 18th birthday during the tournament. Seeded No.11, Raducanu could have a tough opener in the second round against either Lyon runner-up Dayana Yastremska or Lyon semifinalist Caroline Garcia. Both women found resurgent form over the last week on the indoor court in France. 

Read: Draws, prize money, storylines, and everything you need to know about Indian Wells

Halep will open against either Ekaterina Alexandrova or 18-year-old American Elvina Kalieva. Gauff will face either compatriot Claire Liu or a qualifier. Halep and Gauff could face each other in the third round. It would be their first meeting since 2019 Wimbledon.

Top Half: The Swiatek quarter

World No.4 Iga Swiatek kicked off the WTA 1000 season with a strong victory at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha, where she captured the biggest hard-court title of her career. She anchors the second quarter of the draw along with WTA Finals champion Garbiñe Muguruza. Swiatek will open her Indian Wells campaign against either France's Clara Burel or Anhelina Kalinina. Muguruza will face either Alison Riske or a qualifier in the second round and could face Australian Open semifinalist Madison Keys in the third round. 

Navratilova's take: Why Swiatek and Badosa should thrive in Indian Wells

Swiatek could be headed for an enticing matchup against Danish teenager Clara Tauson in the third round. The big-hitting 19-year-old is seeded No.29 and will face either 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin or Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round. 

Daria Kasatkina and Angelique Kerber could face each other for the 10th time in the third round. Both women were runners-up in Indian Wells (2018 Kasatkina and 2019 Kerber). No.29 seed Kasatkina opens against either Arantxa Rus or Katie Volynets, while No.15 seed Kerber could face rising Chinese teen Zheng Qinwen or Vera Zvonareva. 

Bottom Half: The Kontaveit quarter

Estonia's Anett Kontaveit was one match shy from going undefeated in February. She ran off nine consecutive wins to win the title in St. Petersburg and made her first WTA 1000 final since 2018 Wuhan, losing to Swiatek in the Doha final. Kontaveit will look to continue her run of form when she opens her tournament against either Elena Gabriela Ruse of Romania or Kristina Kucova of Slovakia. 

The big news coming out of the Kontaveit quarter is the blockbuster first-round matchup between unseeded Osaka and Stephens. Osaka is playing her first tournament since the Australian Open and will be making her return to Indian Wells for the first time since 2019. Stephens comes into the tournament on the heels of winning Guadalajara, her first title since 2018 Miami. Stephens has won their two prior meetings, but this will be their first showdown since the 2018 WTA Finals, which Stephens won in three sets. The winner will face No.21 Veronika Kudermetova.

Defending champion and No.7 seed Paula Badosa anchors the quarter alongside Kontaveit. After becoming the first Spanish woman to win Indian Wells less than six months ago, Badosa returns for her first attempt at a title defense. She begins against either Tereza Martincova or a qualifier, and she could face her friend and compatriot Sara Sorribes Tormo in the third round. 

Another potential third-round matchup coming out of this quarter could feature Dubai champion and No.10 Jelena Ostapenko against Monterrey champion and No.18 seed Leylah Fernandez. Along with Swiatek, Ostapenko leads the tour in wins this season (14) and was a semifinalist in Indian Wells last fall. She will open against either Shelby Rogers or Nuria Parrizas Diaz. Fernandez, who saved five championship points to win Monterrey on Sunday, will face either Amanda Anisimova or Emma Navarro in her second-round opener. 

Bottom Half: The Sabalenka quarter

No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka anchors the last quarter of the draw with No.6 seed Maria Sakkari. The other seeds in the quarter include 2021 semifinalist and No.9 seed Ons Jabeur, two-time champion Victoria Azarenka and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

Sabalenka will open against either Italy's Jasmine Paolini or a qualifier, and the first seed she could face is Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic in the third round. Sakkari will face either Irina Camelia Begu or Katerina Siniakova in the second round, with No.27 Kvitova a potential opponent in the third round.