It’s the first Masters 1000 event on the calendar and its grounds are one of the most beautiful in the world.
The California desert of Indian Wells will host some of the world’s very best players competing not only for key ranking points, but an illustrious trophy, at the 2022 BNP Paribas Open.
While both fields are plenty deep with high-quality players, noticeably absent from the event are the women’s world No. 1 and the men’s world No. 2.
Australian Open champion Ashleigh Barty withdrew from both the BNP Paribas Open as well as the upcoming Miami Open, citing fatigue.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is unable to travel to the United States to compete in either tournament because he is unvaccinated against COVID-19.
Let’s look at five storylines to watch from Indian Wells:
Leylah looks to carry Monterrey momentum into the desert
She captivated and enthralled not just Canadian tennis fans but those across the globe with her finals run at the US Open at Flushing Meadows last season.
After a slow start to 2022, Leylah Annie Fernandez has found her mojo again.
Fernandez won her second career WTA singles title last week, repeating as champion at the Monterrey Open, with five strong victories en route to the trophy.
Her finals performance was high in quality and drama, as she rallied from 4-1 down in the third set, staved off five match points, and navigated a late match delay due to stadium light issues to beat Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.
Magic in Monterrey
— wta (@WTA) March 7, 2022
@leylahfernandez secures the @Abierto_GNP title for the 2nd time after a tough test from Osorio, 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(3)! pic.twitter.com/UctyQlzKXz
The victory continues what has been an exceptional stretch the last two seasons in North America, where Fernandez is 19-5 over her last 24 matches.
A tough field is ahead for Fernandez at Indian Wells, where she could run into powerful American Amanda Anisimova in the second round and perhaps face former French Open champion and recent Dubai champion Jelena Ostapenko in the third round.
Rafa looks to maintain his perfection
They say Father Time is undefeated.
Well, so is Rafael Nadal.
The 35-year-old Spaniard is in the throes of his 21st pro season and is a flawless 15-0, with three titles, all on hard courts.
It’s the best start of a season in his career.
More astounding is how far he has come after a near six-month layoff due to a foot injury that had the Spanish superstar seriously contemplating retirement.
Nadal gained form early in the year by winning the ATP250 Melbourne Summer Set.
That is a mere footnote compared to his feat at the Australian Open. He captured a record setting 21st Grand Slam title, rallying from down two sets to love to topple Daniil Medvedev in a five-hour-and-24-minute thriller.
Nadal then won the ATP500 in Acapulco, Mexico, again beating Medvedev in an entertaining semifinal match before rolling past Britain’s Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-4 to seize the title.
91 and done
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 27, 2022
The moment @RafaelNadal locked up his 91st career title, and fourth at Acapulco. #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/xworLaTfbh
Nadal has enjoyed plenty of success at Indian Wells in the past, with titles in 2005, 2009 and 2013.
Given the absence of Djokovic, and his edge this season over Medvedev, odds are in his favour to hoist yet another trophy.
Felix leads Canadian men, while Denis looks to build off Dubai
It’s been a breakout season for Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has proven himself as a top-tier contender on the ATP tour with his play over the last several months.
Signature highlights last season included quarterfinals run at Wimbledon, and a trip to the semifinals of the US Open.
He’s been formidable on court throughout 2022 with a 15-4 record across four events.
He helped guide Canada to an international title at the ATP Cup, then played some of the best tennis of his career at the Australian Open in a quarterfinal spectacle against Medvedev.
Auger-Aliassime lost the match 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, 6-4 in four hours and 42 minutes, but it was undoubtedly a massive step in the Canadian’s young career.
Less than two weeks later, he hoisted his first-ever ATP singles title in Rotterdam, ending a slump of eight consecutive finals losses. The following week he finished runner-up in Marseille to Andrey Rublev.
Auger-Aliassime should have the belief that he is a contender to win titles on any given week with his powerful and pinpoint serve, baseline consistency and athletic balance around the court.
Fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov has had a less consistent campaign, but it hasn’t been short on highlights.
Along with the ATP Cup trophy, Shapovalov also made the Australian Open quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Nadal.
After a pair of early exits in Rotterdam and Qatar, the world No. 13 reached the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Shapovalov does excel in packed, energetic stadiums; expect him to thrive off the large California contingent of tennis fans that will be in awe of his shot-making abilities and firepower.
Is unseeded Osaka prepared to do damage?
She is one of the most successful female athletes of all time and an enigmatic talent when she takes the court.
The only source of frustration with Naomi Osaka is simply not getting to see her on the court as often as we’d like.
The four-time Grand Slam champion has been particularly selective with tournament participation the last two seasons.
Osaka missed last year’s French Open and then Wimbledon after citing mental health issues. She shut down her 2021 campaign after a third-round exit at the US Open, as she announced the need for another break as she looked to improve on struggles with anxiety over winning and losing.
Osaka is returning to the BNP Paribas Open for the first time in three years, the desert being the site of the first title of her career.
She opens her campaign with a blockbuster match against 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens.
Deep women’s field hosts several contenders
2020 French Open champion and world No. 4 Iga Swiatek is further establishing herself as an all-surface threat with her heavy topspin forehand, dynamic lateral movement and precision from the baseline.
She’s coming off the biggest hard-court title of her young career, winning the Qatar Total Energies Open in Doha two weeks ago.
Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit has been far and away the most dangerous player at WTA events over the last seven months.
She’s tallied five singles titles, including the St. Petersburg Open three weeks ago. A loss in the finals to Swiatek in Qatar snapped a nine-match winning streak.
Spain’s Paula Badosa will face the tall order of defending her title at the BNP Paribas Open, where she won an electric three-set final over two-time Indian Wells champion Victoria Azarenka to win the trophy.
2-0 in finals
— wta (@WTA) October 17, 2021
@paulabadosa outlasts Azarenka 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-6(2) for the @BNPPARIBASOPEN title! pic.twitter.com/upn6HMY0kZ
Greece’s Maria Sakkari is 11-4 in 2022 and has now reached a career high ranking of No. 6, and 2018 US Open finalist and former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova is in the desert to make her 2022 debut.
With Barty on the sidelines, it is simply anybody’s tournament to win, which continues to make the women’s tour so compelling to watch each week.