Preview Indian Wells 2026 Day One | Tsitsipas-Shapovalov, Monfils, Badosa, Andreescu all feature in action-packed opener

In just a few short hours, the action will be underway at the 2026 Indian Wells Open with the best tennis players in the world making the trip to California to compete in one of the biggest tournaments on the tennis calendar.

Day one sees the action commence with a fine selection of ATP and WTA matchups to entertain the crowd in the premature stages of this 12-day tournament.

The top 32 seeds already see themselves in the second round after receiving a bye but that still leaves a host of talent ready to get their Indian Wells adventure up and running.

The tie of the day has to be between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov. The Greek is seriously out of form, tumbling down the rankings to 43rd in the world which is his lowest position since 2018. Early exits are becoming the norm with his situation not looking like it will change anytime soon. On the contrary, Shapovalov may have also lost a few places due to a failed title defence at the Dallas Open but did reach the semi-finals there as he looks to continue his flawless record in the first round of Indian Wells.

One of the standout names on the list is former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini who is looking to adapt quickly from the South American clay courts to the North American hardcourts. He is one of many tennis players who opted to complete the Golden swing but was unable to muster up any success. Early exits in the Argentina Open and Chile Open sandwiched a quarterfinal run in the Rio Open. While the results are not what he is looking for, a consistent patch on court is good for him. The Italian will take on Open Occitanie runner-up Adrian Mannarino in what is set to be a closely followed opening round match, with Alexander Zverev waiting the winner.

Another Frenchman will be taking to the stage, but for one last time at Indian Wells. This was an obvious stop on Gael Monfils retirement tour, which so far has produced just one singles win in the Mexican Open. The three-time Masters 1000 finalist has only exited this stage once in the last five time competing, and will hope for a similar result against Canadian Alexis Galarneau, who is ranked outside the top 200. A possible all-Canadian second round tie against Felix Auger-Aliassime is very much on the cards.

Joao Fonseca will surely be bringing the Brazilian fans in their numbers. A tricky start to the campaign marred by injuries is the opposite from what was happening last year when he triumphed in Buenos Aires ahead of just his second Masters 1000 appearance. He has competed in eight tournaments in this bracket, and only experienced first round exits on two occasions. This is the most vulnerable he has been to failing to get over the first hurdle, with Raphael Collignon looking to change the result from their one and only meeting in the Davis Cup.

Fellow Belgian, Zizou Bergs, will take on an out of form Jan-Lennard Struff. That is not the only German action on today, with Daniel Altmeir currently on a six-tournament first round losing streak. He will have his hands full against Mexican Open semi-finalist Miomir Kecmanovic who is looking to continue his fine form. A rematch against eventual champion Flavio Cobolli is very much on for the Serbian who will be desperate to extract his revenge.

There is always a fine turnout in American talent at Indian Wells with the first Masters 1000 of the year a chance to show off in front of a home crowd. The action begins with a brace of American-Argentina clashes with wildcard Martin Damm Jr taking on Camilo Ugo Carabelli and Marcos Giron locking horns with Mariano Navone. Ben Shelton is guaranteed to face an American in the second round, but he will have to patiently wait to see if it is Reilly Opelka or Etahn Quinn. Jenson Brooksby will also look to put his name in the next round in a clash against former Canadian Open champion Alexei Popyrin.

On the topic of Aussie's, James Duckworth returns to the Indian Wells main draw for the first time since 2021 as he looks to set up a contest against world number two Jannik Sinner. This will become reality if he finds a way past Dalibor Svrcina. Adam Walton, Tristan Schoolkate and Christopher O'Connell will also represent Down Under in California, respectively taking on Quentin Halys, Dino Prizmic and Marton Fucsovics. Gabriel Diallo traverses down from Canada to take on Mattia Bellucci while one of the final matches of the night sees former US Open champion Marin Cilic coming up against Zachary Svajda.

It is fair to say life on the court for Paula Badosa has not been great in recent times. Consistent injury problems have seriously halted her tennis ambitions despite at times showing great form, like last year when she reached the Australian Open semi-finals. She is now ranked outside the world top 100 in a huge fall from grace, again having a mountain to climb to get back to where she belongs. The former world number two won this title back in 2021, living up to the hype in a three-set win over Victoria Azarenka. Now competing in the tournament for the first time since 2023, her opening match will be against Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva.

The return to WTA action continues for Bianca Andreescu is a very exciting prospect. The former US Open champion has been competing regularly on the ITF Circuit, picking up a brace of titles before making a comeback to the WTA Tour with a three-set defeat against Dalma Galfi at the ATX Open. She burst onto the scene back in 2019 in this specific tournament, causing a huge upset when defeating Angelique Kerber in the final for a magnificent result. She is not at those same levels now, but has aspirations to be competing among the best in the world again. To do this, she has to kick off proceedings with a win, facing Kamila Rakhimova in her first round match. Coco Gauff will be closely following the action.

Similar to the men, the American contingent in the women's tournament will be hoping to put on a show and get the crowd cheering. McCartney Kessler will be certainly hoping for this as she looks to get back into form. A tricky opening matchup against Zeynep Sonmez will be played at the same time Ann Li faces up to Talia Gibson. Alycia Parks and Himeno Sakatsume will fight for the right to play against the world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a daunting prospect. Sloane Stephens will begin her tournament as the final match on against Camila Osorio.

Catherine McNally needs to re-adjust her preparation. Eva Lys was her original first round match but the German continues to remain on the sidelines thanks to a knee problem. Instead, Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva will make her debut at Indian Wells. The Andorran recently became the first player to reach the top 100 from her country after a making it to the quarterfinals of the Merida Open. More progress is in store for the 20-year-old, with the victor in that last-eight clash, Shuai Zhang, being drawn against Dayana Yastremska.

As for the rest of the action, Kimberly Birrell and Oksana Selekhmeteva will begin the day's tennis with Transylvania Open champion Sorana Cirstea making one last voyage to Indian Wells with Tatjana Maria her first opponent. Anastasia Potapova and Marina Stakusic will fight for the right to play Jasmine Paolini, while Ajla Tomljanovic and Elena-Gabriela Ruse also appear in that part of the draw.

More German involvement provided by Ella Seidel who is up against Anastasia Zakharova with Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Beatriz Haddad Maia set to start up their quests for glory. Galfi failed to originally qualify for this, with her and Anna Blinkova now looking ahead to a possible second round meeting with Amanda Anisimova. More Romanian involvement on day one in the form of Jaqueline Cristian, who has a tough opener against Janice Tjen.