Indian Wells 2024, WTA 1000: All you need to know
This year's third WTA 1000 tournament - the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells - is set to start from March 6 onward. The premier tennis tournament will be played on outdoor hard courts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Notably, it will feature a 96-player singles field. The final will be played on March 17 as the top players aim big.
2024 season so far in terms of WTA 1000 tournaments
Iga Swiatek bagged the season-opening WTA 1000 tournament in Qatar last month. She beat Elena Rybakina 7-6, 6-2 to win her 18th women's singles career title. Swiatek went on to clinch a 3rd successive honor in Doha. Jasmine Paolini sealed the season's second WTA 1000 tournament by winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. She overcame Anna Kalinskaya 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Top 10 seeds
Here are the top 10 seeds: 1) Iga Swiatek, 2) Aryna Sabalenka, 3) Coco Gauff, 4) Elena Rybakina, 5) Jessica Pegula, 6) Ons Jabeur, 7) Marketa Vondrousova, 8) Zheng Qinwen, 9) Maria Sakkari, 10) Jelena Ostapenko.
Rybakina is the defending champion
Rybakina is the defending champion here. She captured her first WTA 1000 title by defeating world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(11), 6-4 in the final. It was a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open final. Rybakina won two honors on the WTA Tour in 2024. She pocketed the Brisbane International title by beating Sabalenka before pocketing the Abu Dhabi Open (both WTA 500 tournaments).
Prize money on offer
As per the WTA official site, the winner in Indian Wells will bag a sum of $1,100,000 and get 1,000 points. Meanwhile, the finalist will earn a sum of $585,000 and pocket 650 points.
Ostapenko has won two titles this season
Besides Rybakina, Ostapenko has gone on to win two WTA 500 tournaments this year. Ostapenko claimed the 2024 Adelaide International after beating Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-2. She won the Upper Austria Ladies Linz honor next, defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Key facts about the Indian Wells Open
Since 1989, the Indian Wells Open has witnessed 25 different winners. Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport, Daniela Hantuchova, Kim Clijsters, Steffi Graf, Mary Joe Fernandez Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova have won the tournament twice. Only Navratilova has the exception of winning the tournament on successive occasions (1990 and 1991). Davenport has played the most finals (6). She also reached 3 successive finals.
