After kicking off the WTA 1000 series in the Middle East in Doha and Dubai, the Hologic WTA Tour heads to the United States for the "Sunshine Double." The BNP Paribas Open is the third WTA 1000-level tournament of the year and kicks off in Indian Wells, California on Wednesday, March 6.
The Top 32 seeds all receive first-round byes and will not play their opening matches until Friday or Saturday.
Here are the projected Top 10 seeds at Indian Wells.
1. Iga Swiatek (POL)
2024 Record: 14-2; Titles: 1 (Doha)
Best Indian Wells result: Champion (2022)
Last Indian Wells result: Semifinal (l. Rybakina)
Notable stat: Swiatek captured her seventh WTA 1000 title by winning Doha last month putting her fifth all-time behind Serena Williams (13), Victoria Azarenka (10), Simona Halep (9), Petra Kvitova (9) and Maria Sharapova (8).
2. Aryna Sabalenka
2024 Record: 11-2; Titles: 1 (Australian Open)
Best Indian Wells result: Finalist (2023)
Last Indian Wells result: Final (l. Rybakina)
Notable stat: No.1 seed and No.2 seeds have met head-to-head in a tournament final four times this season, matching last year's tally for the whole season. The last time the No.1 seed and No.2 seed met more than four times in tournament finals in a season was 2013 (nine).
3. Coco Gauff (USA)
2024 Record: 12-3: Titles: 1 (Auckland)
Best Indian Wells result: Quarterfinalist (2023)
Last Indian Wells result: Quarterfinal (l. Sabalenka)
Notable stat: Gauff will celebrate her 20th birthday during the tournament, marking an end to her standout teenage career. In Dubai, she surpassed Nicole Vaidisova for the third-most main-draw victories at WTA events as a teenager this century.
4. Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
2024 Record: 17-3; Titles: 2 (Brisbane, Abu Dhabi)
Best Indian Wells result: Champion (2023)
Last Indian Wells result: Champion (d. Sabalenka)
Notable stat: The defending champion returns to Indian Wells leading the tour in match-wins this season (17), finals (3) and titles (2 -- tied with Ostapenko). Last year, she came within a set of sweeping the Sunshine Double, falling in the Miami final to Petra Kvitova.
5. Jessica Pegula (USA)
2024 Record: 6-3; Titles: 0
Best Indian Wells result: Quarterfinalist (2021)
Last Indian Wells result: Round of 16 (l. Kvitova)
Notable stat: Indian Wells was the site of Pegula's WTA main-draw debut in 2012. She did not play the main draw again until 2019.
6. Ons Jabeur. (TUN)
2024 Record: 2-3; Titles: 0
Best Indian Wells result: Semifinalist (2021)
Last Indian Wells result: Third round (l. Vondrousova)
Notable stat: Indian Wells is the only hard-court WTA 1000 tournament at which Jabeur has made the semifinals.
7. Marketa Vondrousova (CZE)
2024 Record: 4-4; Titles: 0
Best Indian Wells result: Quarterfinalist (2019)
Last Indian Wells result: Round of 16 (l. Muchova)
Notable stat: This time last year, Vondrousova was ranked outside the Top 100. She proceeded to make the Round of 16 at three of the next four WTA 1000 events, which served as a springboard to her Wimbledon title last summer.
8. Zheng Qinwen (CHN)
2024 Record: 11-4; Titles: 0
Best Indian Wells result: Second round (2022)
Last Indian Wells result: DNP
Notable stat: Of her four losses this season, three have come at the hands of the World No.1 or World No.2.
9. Maria Sakkari (GRE)
2024 Record: 5-4; Titles: 0
Best Indian Wells result: Finalist (2022)
Last Indian Wells result: Semifinal (l. Sabalenka)
Notable stat: For the first time since 2019, Sakkari arrives in Indian Wells without making the quarterfinals or better at a regular WTA tournament this season.
10. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
2024 Record: 16-4; Titles: 2 (Adelaide, Linz)
Best Indian Wells result: Semifinal (2021)
Last Indian Wells result: Second round (l. Kvitova)
Notable stat: Sits second behind Rybakina for the most wins this season. Three of her four losses have come to former No.1 and two-time Indian Wells champion Victoria Azarenka.
