A year has passed since an unmissable event in tennis. After a first month of the women’s circuit full of emotion, the action moves to the Californian desert to compete in the third WTA 1000 of the season in Indian Wells 2024.
Elena Rybakina arrives in the Californian desert as the defending champion, although the rival to beat in the big events is Aryna Sabalenka. The recent winner of the 2024 Australian Open reached the final last year, although her recent defeat in her first match in Dubai shows a lack of consistency that she will have to solve immediately.
Who will also want to hit the table is Iga Swiatek. The world number one recently won the Doha tournament, although at the beginning of the year she has shown her weaknesses on the court. The Polish tennis player won in Indian Wells in 2022, so she knows perfectly what she needs to take that step forward.
Analysis of the women’s draw of the WTA 1000 Indian Wells 2024:
1st quadrant
Potential rivals of Iga Swiatek: Bye – Danielle Collins – Linda Noskova – Madison Keys/Ekaterina Alexandrova – Ons Jabeur – Elena Rybakina – Aryna Sabalenka/Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula
Ons Jabeur’s potential rivals: Bye – Mirra Andreeva – Donna Vekic – Jelena Ostapenko – Iga Swiatek – Elena Rybakina – Aryna Sabalenka/Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula
The world number one will face her biggest nightmares since the beginning of her adventure in Indian Wells 2024. In her first duel in the American tournament, it is very likely that Iga will face Danielle Collins, a player who put her in trouble a few years ago. just a few weeks in Melbourne. The bad news for the Pole does not end there. Uncomfortable rivals for her such as Linda Noskova, an opponent who beat her in Australia, or Elena Rybakina, have fallen into the same part of her draw. Barring some surprise, if Swiatek wins the title in Indian Wells, he could do so by overcoming an impossible draw.
On the part of Ons Jabeur, the Tunisian will not have it easy either. Mirra Andreeva could meet her in her first test in the American event, a Russian player who beat her very convincingly to everyone’s surprise in the second round of the Australian Open. Expectations are not very high for Jabeur who reaches the WTA 1000 in the United States after a few weeks in which she has confessed that she continues to feel discomfort in her knee.
2nd quadrant
Potential rivals of Elena Rybakina: Bye – Paula Badosa – Anastasia Potapova – Jasmine Paolini/Anna Kalinskaya – Marketa Vondrousova/Beatriz Haddad Maia – Iga Swiatek – Aryna Sabalenka/Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula
Marketa Vondrousova’s potential rivals: Bye – Daria Saville – Marta Kostyuk – Beatriz Haddad Maia – Elena Rybakina – Iga Swiatek – Aryna Sabalenka/Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula
Despite having fallen in the same area of the draw as Iga Swiatek, world number one, this area seems a little clearer than that of the Pole. Even so, that duel between Elena Rybakina and Paula Badosa that could take place in the second round draws quite a bit of attention. The Spaniard had to withdraw again in Dubai due to those physical problems, although she has had a couple of weeks to prepare for this WTA 1000. The Barcelona woman’s debut would be against Krueger, so she would already have some rhythm to face the Kazakh .
Rybakina will have to be very careful, if she continues to advance in the tournament, with Jasmine Paolini, a player who has just won the Dubai tournament. Her improvement in recent months is beginning to be noticeable on the circuit and this is the perfect time to take the plunge and beat one of her favorites. Elena defends her title and her biggest complications should begin to come in those potential semifinals with Swiatek.
3er quadrant
Coco Gauff’s Potential Rivals: Bye – Clara Burel/Xiyu Wang – Anhelina Kalinina – Liudmila Samsonova/Elise Mertens/Naomi Osaka – Qinwen Zheng/Victoria Azarenka/Daria Kasatkina – Aryna sabalenka – Jessica Pegula – Iga Swiatek/Elena Rybakina
Qinwen Zheng’s Potential Rivals: Bye – Varvara Gracheva/Yue Yuan – Victoria Azarenka – Daria Kasatkina – Coco Gauff – Aryna Sabalenka/Jessica Pegula – Iga Swiatek/Elena Rybakina
Coco should begin her adventure at Indian Wells 2024 as the favorite, without even dropping sets in her first two rounds. Already in the quarterfinals, rivals as dangerous as Victoria Azarenka, champion in the event in 2016, Qinwen Zheng, recent finalist in Melbourne, or Daria Kasatkina, finalist in Abu Dhabi, begin to appear. It is the ideal time for Gauff to overcome a somewhat more irregular streak of results, although she will have to show that confidence and security to achieve her best tennis. Very interesting would also be that supposed clash in the fourth round with Naomi Osaka who uses protected ranking to be in the tournament.
Qinwen would meet Azarenka in an interesting duel that only has one precedent. Victoria won the victory more than a year ago, although the tension will be on the side of the Chinese player, who achieved her best result in a Grand Slam last January and who has to show that it is not just a good tournament. Going to the quarterfinals against Coco Gauff would be a positive conclusion for Zheng, who surely has better expectations.
4th quadrant
Aryna Sabalenka’s potential rivals: Bye – Elisabetta Cocciaretto – Dayana Yastremska/Emma Raducanu – Elina Svitolina/Emma Navarro – Jessica Pegula/Maria Sakkari – Coco Gauff/Qinwen Zheng – Iga Swiatek/Elena Rybakina
Jessica Pegula’s potential rivals: Bye – Anna Blinkova/Karolina Pliskova – Leylah Fernandez – Maria Sakkari/Caroline Garcia – Aryna Sabalenka – Coco Gauff/Qinwen Zheng – Iga Swiatek/Elena Rybakina
Aryna should start sweeping this Indian Wells 2024, leaving behind the bad feelings of that surprising defeat in Dubai against Donna Vekic. Even so, the Belarusian will have to be very careful because in the third round she could come across Emma Raducanu, who is always a challenge to face. The greatest danger for Sabalenka comes in that potential semifinal against Coco Gauff, in that reissue of the last US Open final in which the American won.
For Jessica’s part, the American is defending the fourth round in Indian Wells, something she is not so sure she will achieve seeing her quadrant. Pegula has not started 2024 in the best way, accumulating defeats too early, although perhaps the WTA 1000 held in the Californian desert serves as a turning point and surpasses her limits. Jessica’s hardest rock comes in that possible quarterfinal match against Sabalenka. Since then, the problems would begin to accumulate.
2024-03-05 00:19:57
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