All 96 players, from seeds to wild cards to qualifiers, were seeded into the BNP Paribas Open women’s draw on Monday in a ceremony outside Stage 1 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and the event featured the orchestrator of one of the wildest wild card races of all time.
In attendance to the delight of the crowd was 2019 BNP Paribas Open champion Bianca Andreescu, who had a remarkable journey from entering as an unknown wild card to winning the BNP Paribas Open title at the age of 19 and then winning the US Open the same year.
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Andreescu said she often rewatches her run at the BNP Paribas Open in 2019, to remind herself to play carefreely like she did back then.
“And who knows? I was a wild card then and I am this year, so we’ll see what happens,” she said.
But when the draw was revealed, she didn’t really take a break from her position, as you’ll see as you dig deeper into the women’s draw.
Stories of women at the BNP Paribas Open 2026 in Indian Wells
Venus Williams lined up for All-American clash
One of the obvious points of interest was to see where 45-year-old tennis icon Venus Williams would fall in the draw and there was a slight sigh when the bracket was filled. Williams’ first match will be against a qualifier, and if she can win that one, she will face fellow No. 15 seed Madison Keys in a very interesting second-round match.
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Williams, who will also play doubles at Indian Wells this year with Leylah Fernandez, doesn’t view these wild-card entries as just a farewell tour that she has been battling in recent times. Tournament organizers will no doubt hope she tops the qualifiers she faces to set up a favored second-round match on Friday or Saturday.
Other enticing potential clashes at the start of the women’s round
Naomi Osaka signs her autograph for fans after a practice session during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Monday, March 2, 2026.
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Bianca Andreescu vs. Coco Gauff: I don’t know which player should feel more disappointed in this match. With other top seeds lined up to play qualifying, Gauff’s first tournament match could very well be against a major champion in Andreescu. Likewise, Andreescu may have had a deep plan in mind, but she now knows she’ll have to upset the world’s fourth-ranked player just to get out of the opening weekend. The fans are the only winners in this juicy confrontation.
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Emma Raducanu vs. Amanda Anisimova: This potential third-round match between Raducanu, seeded 25th, and Anisimova, seeded No. 6, would be an eclectic clash of varying styles, with Raducanu’s athletic ability versus Anisimova’s power. Remember that Anisimova made two Grand Slam finals last year, but she has never won an event as prestigious as this one.
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Naomi Osaka vs. Caty McNally/Eva Lys: Whoever No. 16 seed Naomi Osaka faces in her first match of the tournament will be some tennis not to be missed. Osaka vs. McNally would be an interesting collision as the young American attempts to rack up more and more quality wins as she climbs the rankings. And Lys, who lacks number of letters in her name, but no showmanship. Lys is a talented German player born in Ukraine with a strong and personality-filled social media presence.
Did Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek take a break from the women’s draw?
While it’s fun to talk about potential early game matchups, it’s often the now-clear late game matchups revealed by the coin toss that have the most impact on who wins. Let’s take a look and see if #1 Aryna Sabalenka or #2 Iga Swiatek got the biggest part of the draw.
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Sabalenka: She would face No. 6 Anisimova in the quarterfinals and the winner Gauff (No. 4) and Jasmine Paolini (No. 7) in the quarterfinals.
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Swiatek: She would face No. 8 and defending champion Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals and the winner of No. 3 Elena Rybakina and No. 5 Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.
Neither seems like a fun route, but I’ll give Sabalenka the edge, simply because I think Australian Open champion Rybakina and reigning BNP champion Andreeva are prepared for these conditions.
This article was originally published on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Where did Venus Williams arrive in the women’s draw at the BNP Paribas Open?
