Vekic, Tagger secure first 2026 tour-level wins at Indian Wells

The circumstances for Donna Vekic and Tereza Valentova's first-round match at Indian Wells could not have been more different.

Vekic, making her 11th appearance at the BNP Paribas Open, was seeking her first tour-level win of 2026. As for Valentova in her Indian Wells debut, the rising Czech teenage star eyed another pivotal win of a breakthrough stretch from 2025 and into 2026 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. 

Indian Wells: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Veteran experience prevailed over teenage stardom in Thursday afternoon's match at a windy Stadium 3 in Indian Wells Tennis Garden as Vekic fended off Valentova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) in a 2-hour and 38-minute thriller. The Croatian earned her first tour-level win since the Chennai Open in October, and will face Jessica Pegula in the second round. 

Compared to a year ago, Vekic entered Indian Wells ranked No. 22, but now is ranked No. 103 in the PIF WTA Rankings. Receiving a wild card, Vekic faced direct entrant Valentova -- who at this time in 2025 -- was navigating her way to the final at ITF W75 in Trnava, Slovakia ranked just inside the top 200.  

For a straight-sets win, this is as close as it could have gotten with two tiebreaks, and each player was broken just twice. The first two games of the match foreshadowed of what was to come with a deuce in each that totaled a combined 18 minutes. Valentova struck with the match's first break and sprinted to a 3-1 lead, though Vekic remained composed to recapture the set's lead at 4-3. In the first-set tiebreak, down 6-4, Valentova double faulted with a poor ball toss. 

In the second up 6-5, Valentova had two set points to force a deciding third on the return, but one shot went straight to net while the other sailed long and forced a deuce. Vekic capitalized, hitting one of her nine aces in the deuce, to create the tiebreak.

Though needing four match points, Vekic withstood the valiant Valentova, and now advances to the second round of any event in 2026 since reaching the final at the WTA 125 in Manila in January.

Tagger wins first-career WTA 1000 main-draw match

Watching Austria's Lilli Tagger play, there is one iconic shot selection of hers that fans will immediately notice -- the one-handed backhand. It's something that's quite uncommon on the WTA Tour, but for Tagger, it's her signature shot and one that she's been working since she was 10 years old.  

Playing in her first main draw match of a WTA 1000 and just her six tour-level match overall, the wild card Tagger showcased that signature hit and much more in a 6-2, 6-4 win over an experienced Varvara Gracheva. The recently turned 18-year old is the youngest player in the singles field at the BNP Paribas Open, but she's certainly riding incredible form. 

Tagger, who picked up three ITF titles in 2025 and one in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, just last month, has been slowly making her name known. She reached a WTA 250 final in Jiujiang to close 2025 in addition to the WTA 125 Mumbai last month, and with her win over Gracheva Thursday, she's set for her biggest match of her career against Maria Sakkari in the second round. 

Following a 30-minute first set, Gracheva eventually found some footing in the match, winning three consecutive games to take a 4-3 lead in the second set. However, her Achilles heel would be eight double faults in the match in addition to being broken four times, allowing Tagger to take the win in straight sets. 

Tagger, ranked No. 119 in the world, impressed with five aces, a 65% first serve conversion and won 75% of her first service points.