As Indian Wells begins, can Sabalenka and Swiatek reassert their dominance?
INDIAN WELLS -- The stadium court at the BNP Paribas Open was already fully cloaked in shadows late Monday afternoon, but Aryna Sabalenka
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.
The World No. 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. “It’s a good problem to have, because I went really far at the Australian Open, so I was kind of like exhausted every time I’m in Middle East. February is not my month, I believe.”
The consequential loss was that final in Melbourne when, in a bid for her third consecutive title, Sabalenka fell in three sets to Madison Keys
“That [final] was tough to accept, to be honest,” Sabalenka said. “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, I’d say, and it’s actually pretty easy to do.”
Sabalenka has fashioned a sturdy 10-5 record at Indian Wells, reaching the 2023 final before losing to Elena Rybakina
“[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. To win this trophy would mean a lot, 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 eyes an IW triple
Like Sabalenka, 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. Believe it or not, the last one came nearly a year ago at Roland Garros -- her fifth and last of 2024.
Swiatek, though, 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. That would be saying something, since 10 women have won twice; Victoria Azarenka
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
Speaking of which …
Second-round matches we can’t wait for
All 32 seeded players have a first-round bye, but look at these delicious potential second-round meetings:
No. 2 Iga Swiatek
No. 3 Coco Gauff
No. 9 Mirra Andreeva
No. 17 Amanda Anisimova
No. 22 Clara Tauson
A faster surface
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.
“They’re a little bit faster, which is good for me, right?” Sabalenka said, smiling. “It feels good, feels good so far. I’ll tell you later after my first match. I hope I’ll still like it.”
Advantage, apparently, big hitters.
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