The 2026 BNP Paribas Open enters its subsequent gear because the opening-round mud settles and the world’s prime seeds lastly take the court docket. Following two days of high-stakes qualifiers and veteran battles, the Friday schedule marks the arrival of the tour’s heavyweights on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, with 4 of the world’s Top 10 girls in singles motion.
Sabalenka returns to motion for the primary time because the Australian Open remaining
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka returns to the court docket for the primary time because the Australian Open, headlining Friday’s afternoon session on Stadium 1 in opposition to Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume. Sabalenka, who opened her 2026 marketing campaign with a title run in Brisbane, arrives within the desert well-rested after electing to bypass the Middle East swing in February. After falling simply brief within the 2025 remaining to Mirra Andreeva, the highest seed is trying to leverage her recent legs to safe a first Indian Wells crown and prolong her lead on the prime of the rankings.
Teenage stars Mboko and Andreeva again within the highlight
The teenage takeover continues as Victoria Mboko enters the match as a Top 10 seed for the primary time, going through Kimberly Birrell at 11 a.m. native time. This marks her first look within the Indian Wells main-draw for the 19-year-old Canadian, whose rise to World No. 10 was solidified by a finals look in Doha final month. Meanwhile, Andreeva — who took down the sphere final 12 months at simply 17 — begins her Indian Wells marketing campaign on the doubles court docket Friday alongside Mboko. Andreeva enters the week trying to grow to be the primary girl since Martina Navratilova in 1991 to efficiently defend the singles crown.
Gauff searches for rhythm forward of a potential showdown with Eala
World No. 4 Coco Gauff takes to the primary stage in opposition to Kamilla Rakhimova, aiming to sharpen her type after a testing run within the Middle East. A victory for Gauff may arrange a extremely anticipated third-round encounter with the No. 31 seed and rising star Alexandra Eala. The Filipino expertise, who reached the Miami semifinals final 12 months and just lately broke into the Top 40, acquired a first-round bye and will face Dayana Yastremska within the night session on Stadium 3.
Indian Wells Order of Play – Friday, March 6
Stadium 1: Start 11 a.m.
ATP – Matteo Berrettini vs. [4] Alexander Zverev
Not Before 1:00 PM: WTA – [1] Aryna Sabalenka vs. Himeno Sakatsume
WTA – [4] Coco Gauff vs. Kamilla Rakhimova
Not Before 6:00 PM: ATP – [Q] Dalibor Svrcina vs. [2] Jannik Sinner
Not Before 8:00 PM: WTA – Anna Blinkova vs. [6] Amanda Anisimova
Stadium 2: Start 11 a.m.
WTA – [10] Victoria Mboko vs. Kimberly Birrell
ATP – [8] Ben Shelton vs. Reilly Opelka
ATP – Jenson Brooksby vs. [21] Frances Tiafoe
Not Before 6:00 PM: WTA – Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva vs. [16] Naomi Osaka
ATP – Zizou Bergs vs. [23] Tommy Paul
Stadium 3: Start 11 a.m.
ATP – Adam Walton vs. [25] Learner Tien
ATP – [5] Lorenzo Musetti vs. Marton Fucsovics
ATP – [WC] Gael Monfils vs. [9] Felix Auger-Aliassime
Not Before 6:00 PM: WTA – [18] Iva Jovic vs. Camila Osorio
WTA – Dayana Yastremska vs. [31] Alexandra Eala
Stadium 4: Start 11 a.m.
WTA – [25] Emma Raducanu vs. Anastasia Zakharova
WTA – [21] Diana Shnaider vs. Sorana Cirstea
WTA – Anastasia Potapova vs. [7] Jasmine Paolini
Not Before 3:00 PM: ATP – [29] Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Denis Shapovalov
ATP – Marcos Giron vs. [12] Jakub Mensik
Stadium 5: Start 11 a.m.
WTA – Jessica Bouzas Maneiro vs. [14] Linda Noskova
WTA – [7] C. Bucsa / N. Melichar-Martinez vs. D. Jurak Schreiber / G. Olmos
Not Before 2:00 PM: ATP – [Q] Dino Prizmic vs. [30] Arthur Fils
WTA – [3] Okay. Siniakova / T. Townsend vs. E. Raducanu / E. Ruse
WTA – B. Bencic / S. Cirstea vs. Y. Xu / Z. Yang
Stadium 6: Start 11:00 a.m.
ATP – [15] Flavio Cobolli vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
WTA – [5] A. Danilina / A. Krunic vs. S. Stephens / D. Vekic
ATP – [28] Brandon Nakashima vs. Camilo Ugo Carabelli
Not Before 3:00 PM: WTA – M. Andreeva / V. Mboko vs. [4] E. Mertens / S. Zhang
ATP – [18] A. Davidovich Fokina vs. [WC] Zachary Svajda
Stadium 7: Start 11 a.m.
WTA – Yulia Putintseva vs. [17] Clara Tauson
WTA – [30] Xinyu Wang vs. Ajla Tomljanovic
WTA – Jaqueline Cristian vs. [29] Maya Joint
WTA – A. Panova / L. Siegemund vs. [6] A. Muhammad / E. Routliffe
Stadium 9: Start 11 a.m.
WTA – [11] Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Talia Gibson
WTA – Zeynep Sonmez vs. [23] Anna Kalinskaya
WTA – C. McNally / L. Samsonova vs. E. Alexandrova / S. Kenin
