10 things to look for at 2025 BNP Paribas Open | Indian Wells

 

                                             (Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images) 

The 2025 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California is underway. I would like to provide my list of 10 things to look for at this year's event, which is often dubbed the 5th grand slam. To check out the draws, click here. 

#1. Can Taylor Fritz bounce back from his disappointing Australian Open? Taylor Fritz comes in as the No. 3 seed and No. 4 player in the world on the men's side. He did not have a particularly strong Australian Open as he went down in the 3rd round, meaning he needs to bounce back and not let that result linger. The good news for Fritz is he's won Indian Wells before back in 2022 and being from Southern California, he basically has home court advantage. If there's an event for Fritz to bounce back at, this is the one. How he does could be very telling for how the rest of his 2025 season will go. 

#2. Can Aryna Sabalenka win her first Indian Wells title and reestablish hard court dominance? Aryna Sabalenka comes in ranked No. 1 in the world and the top hard court player in the women's game. In this year's Australian Open, Sabalenka fell to Madison Keys in the final, unable to win her third straight Australian Open title and third straight hard court grand slam. Sabalenka seems fired up to win this event and remind the WTA tour that she's the best on the hard court surface. She also hasn't won this event before, reaching the final in 2023 where she lost to Elena Rybakina. So that's probably a big source of her motivation for winning. It'll be fun to see if she can go the distance. 

#3. Can Novak Djokovic prove he's still got it? I think there are some questions about whether or not Novak Djokovic still has what it takes to win more grand slams. Personally, I think he does, but it would be huge for him to win at Indian Wells just to give himself some momentum after losing in the semifinals at the Australian Open earlier this year. Djokovic has won Indian Wells five times, so he knows what it takes to win it. But, he hasn't won since 2016. It would be pretty cool if he won a sixth Indian Wells title. That would break the tie he has with Roger Federer, who also won five Indian Wells titles (tied for most all-time). 

#4. Can Madison Keys build on her Australian Open success? Madison Keys won her first grand slam at the Australian Open earlier this year, knocking off Aryna Sabalenka. It'll be interesting to see how Keys does at Indian Wells. She comes in as the No. 5 seed and thus should be in the mix to win the tournament. That said, she has never won this tournament nor has she reached the final. If she were to win this, that would really be sending a message to the rest of the WTA. 

#5. Can Ben Shelton make a run? Ben Shelton is coming into this tournament with some momentum having reached the semifinals at the Australian Open earlier this year. That was his second grand slam semifinal appearance (2023 US Open). He's the No. 11 seed in the tournament and shown an ability to get hot on the hard courts. If you want to talk a dark horse in this tournament to at least make a semifinal run, Shelton is absolutely a guy who could challenge. I look forward to seeing how this tournament goes for him. 

#6. Can Coco Gauff win her first Indian Wells title? Coco Gauff comes in as the No. 3 seed and thus a favorite to at least reach the semifinals. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open this year, which was a bit disappointing for her since she's trying to win multiple grand slams after winning her first grand slam at the 2023 US Open. She's won a couple of WTA 1000 titles, but an Indian Wells title still eludes her. She did reach the semifinals last year, so she's certainly knocking on the door. Perhaps this will be the year she breaks through. 

#7. Will Alexander Zverev back up his seed? Alexander Zverev is the No. 2 ranked player in the world, but with Jannik Sinner serving a suspension for doping, Zverev is the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The question is will it matter? The furthest Zverev has gone at Indian Wells is the quarterfinals last year. Perhaps this will be the year that finally changes. If he could win this tournament, that would be a huge boost to his confidence heading into Miami where he reached the final back in 2022. 

#8. Can Paula Badosa win her second Indian Wells title? Paula Badosa comes in as the No. 11 seed, fresh off a run to the semifinals of the Australian Open. She also won this event back in 2021, so she knows what it takes to win it all. If you want to pick a dark horse on the women's side, Paula Badosa would be a pretty good pick. Don't be surprised if she threatens to win it all this year. 

#9. Will we get another Alcaraz/Medvedev final? Carlos Alcaraz comes in as the No. 2 seed, ranked No. 3 in the world while Daniil Medvedev comes in as the No. 5 seed, ranked No. 6 in the world. The last two years, they've met in the final with Alcaraz getting the better of Medvedev. A big question coming into this year's tournament is will we see another Alcaraz/Medvedev final? They're both on opposite sides of the draw, so it's totally possible. If we do, will Alcaraz win his third straight Indian Wells title or will Medvedev break through? If not, who will knock these guys off? 

#10. Can Iga Świątek defend her title? Iga Świątek comes in as the No. 2 seed on the women's side, ranked No. 2 in the world. She's the defending champion at this event and has won it twice, so she knows how to get it done. If she does reach the final, odds are good Aryna Sabalenka will be there. All I can say is what a fun match that would be! If Świątek is to defend her title, she's certainly going to have to earn it. This won't be an easy draw. It never is at Indian Wells. 

Prediction: I'm going to say Alexander Zverev breaks through to win his first Indian Wells title on the men's side. If he doesn't win it this year, he probably never will. As for the women's side, I'm gonna roll with Coco Gauff. I expect her to play well and feed off the energy that will come with being the top ranked American. I look forward to seeing how the tournament goes and who ends up winning it all. 

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10 things to take away from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament

 

                                              (Credit: ausopen.com) 

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are over one year after they had to hit the pause button due to COVID-19. In tennis, Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev took home the gold medal in singles. It was a breakthrough for both players as neither has won a grand slam before. Both players are hoping their gold medals will propel them to future success and grand slam titles. Below is my list of 10 things to take away from the tournament in Tokyo. 

#1. Alexander Zverev is on the rise: Currently ranked #4 in the world, Alexander Zverev is inching closer and closer to his first grand slam title. Winning an Olympic gold medal has to give him a lot of confidence with the U.S. Open coming up. What makes this gold medal even more sweet is the fact that he defeated Novak Djokovic 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals. Honestly, it feels more like a question of when rather than if Zverev gets a grand slam title. This Olympic gold medal is just another data point that indicates he's not that far off. 

#2. Belinda Bencic could be on the verge of a grand slam breakthrough as well: Belinda Bencic is currently ranked #11 in the world, but she's been ranked as high as #4 (February, 2020). She's never reached a grand slam final before and has only advanced past the 4th round at the US Open in which she reached the semifinals in 2019. It'll be interesting to see how this gold affects Bencic's confidence as she heads into the US Open. Perhaps she too will get a grand slam title in the near future. 

#3. Novak Djokovic is human: Novak Djokovic's quest for a golden slam came to a halt in the semifinals against Zverev and he didn't leave gracefully either, throwing his racket and pulling out of his mixed doubles match after that. As great as he is, Djokovic showed us that he is human and that he can't always be on. One thing that should be noted is that the Olympics are three set matches and Djokovic really thrives in five set settings. So this shouldn't be interpreted as any sort of indication that he's not going to win the US Open. Still, given how great he is, it was surprising to see him fall short and not get the elusive golden slam. The calendar slam is still possible for him, though. So, he should still have plenty of motivation heading into the US Open. Perhaps even more. 

#4. Naomi Osaka is back on the court: While she didn't get a medal as the hometown favorite, Naomi Osaka did compete in the Olympics, losing in the 3rd round to Marketa Vondrousova. Given that she withdrew from the French Open and skipped Wimbledon due to emotional health reasons, it's big for her to just get back on the court and compete on a big stage. Hopefully this will boost her confidence heading into the US Open. 

#5. Karen Khachanov could be on the verge of something special, too: Karen Khachanov came in as the #12 seed and walked out with the silver medal, losing 3-6, 1-6 in the gold medal match to Zverev. Khachanov has never reached a grand slam semifinal before, but maybe this run to the Olympic final will give him more confidence. The US Open historically has been the most wide open event in men's tennis in recent years. Maybe Khachanov will make a deep run of his own. 

#6. Ashleigh Barty couldn't keep the good vibes rolling: After winning Wimbledon, there was hope that world #1 Ashleigh Barty would roll into Tokyo and take gold. Instead, she fell in the first round. Fortunately, this had zero effect on her ranking, but even so, she was hoping for a better outcome in these Olympic games. Fortunately, she has the US Open to look forward to. 

#7. Daniil Medvedev's consistency needs to improve: Daniil Medvedev came in as the #2 seed and he exited in the quarterfinals to Pablo Carreño Busta by a final score of 2-6, 6-7. Medvedev is still in search of his first career grand slam title, showing flashes of what could be in store for him. The big thing he needs to work on is consistency and getting to finals with even more regularity. This tournament was another reminder of that. 

#8. Iga Świątek needs to figure out the hard courts: Iga Świątek is only 20 years old, she's got one French Open title under her belt and no doubt has the potential to win more grand slams. That all said, she does need to figure out how to win on hard courts. Her 2nd round exit was disappointing for someone of her potential. 

#9. Stefanos Tsitsipas blew an opportunity: Stefanos Tsitsipas came in as the #3 overall seed and he fell in the 3rd round. He had a great chance to get a medal and he failed to do so. Given the draw, this is a tournament he'd wish to have back. One does have to wonder if that trip to the French Open final this year wore on him more than we thought. The US Open is going to be big for him. 

#10. Can Marketa Vondrousova build on her silver medal run? After taking out Naomi Osaka, Marketa Vondrousova made it all the way to the final before losing to Belinda Bencic in the gold medal match. Vondrousova hasn't had much grand slam success with the 2019 French Open final being her lone trip to a grand slam final. In the other grand slams, she hasn't gotten past the 4th round. It'll be interesting to see if this is the beginning of something new for her and whether or not we'll see her compete in the second week of grand slams with more regularity than she has in the past. 

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