While February was all about quantity on the tennis circuit, March is all about quality. Going from one month to the next marks a big change on the ATP Tour. In February there were ATP 250s and 500s everywhere every single week. In March there are only a pair of Masters 1000s: Indian Wells and Miami.
The Sunshine Double will begin these two days with the BNP Paribas Open, where Carlos Alcaraz is the top seed and two-time champion. No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner returned to the desert following a layoff last year and claimed his first Indian Wells title. They are part of a packed ATP field that includes 23 of the world’s top 24 players, with 2025 runner-up Holger Rune absent as he continues his recovery from last year’s Achilles injury.
Here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming festivities at “Tennis Paradise.”
BNP Paribas Open
WhereLocation: Palm Springs, California
The face: It’s difficult
Points: 1000
Prize moneyPrice: $9,415,725
Top seeds: Carlos Alcaraz
The defending champion: Jack Draper
Draw an analysis: The draw for the BNP Paribas Open was held on Monday afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The field of 96 is balanced enough for all brackets, but it is not an easy path to the third title of the number 1 seed. Alcaraz will start his tournament against Grigor Dimitrov or Terence Atmane, while the Spanish quarter is also home to Alex de Minaur, Alexander Bublik and Casper Ruud.
Novak Djokovic is at the top of the draw, although he will not look ahead to the semi-final against Alcaraz. The 38-year-old Serb is likely to meet two big servers in his first two matches – Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the second round and Hubert Hurkacz in the third. Defending champion Jack Draper could be Djokovic’s fourth round opponent. Daniil Medvedev finds himself in Djokovic’s category, but it remains to be seen whether the Dubai champion will be able to leave early to play in Indian Wells.
At the top of the bracket, Sinner could face Stefanos Tsitsipas or Denis Shapovalov in the third round, Tommy Paul in the last 16, and Ben Shelton in the quarters. Possible opponents for Alexander Zverev include Acapulco champion Flavio Cobolli or Acapulco runner-up Frances Tiafoe in the last 16. Lorenzo Musetti, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Andrey Rublev could be Zverev’s possible quarterfinal opponents, but Rublev is currently in the same predicament as Medvedev.
In addition to Dimitrov vs. Atmane, other first round matchups to watch are Tsitsipas vs. Shapovalov, Joao Fonseca vs. Raphael Collignon, Alejandro Tabilo vs. Rafael Jodar, Matteo Berrettini vs. Adrian Mannarino, Alexei Popyrin vs. Jenson Brooksby vs. Jenson Brooksby, and Reilly O Quinka
It’s hot: Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Bublik, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien, Luciano Darderi, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Sebastian Korda, Rafael Jodar, Sebastian Baez, Martin Damm, Raphael
It’s cold: Casper Ruud, Jack Draper, Grigor Dimitrov, Arthur Cazaux, Matteo Arnaldi, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Roberto Bautista Agut, Valentin Royer, Jake Fearnley, Marton Fucsovics, Gabriel Diallo, Gael Monfils, Alexei Popyrin, Mariano Navone Stru- Janff-
Forecasts for the last quarter: Carlos Alcaraz over Luciano Darderi, Taylor Fritz over Francisco Cerundolo, Alexander Zverev over Arthur Fils, and Jannik Sinner over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Semi-finalist: Alcaraz over Fritz and Sinner over Zverev
Finally: Alcaraz over Sinner
