Round of 16 at Indian Wells resulted with some of the top seeds getting out of competition after displaying quite a poor performance. However, the line-up of quarterfinals promises ton of quality, as all the best performing players from the last week in California will clash in some really spicy match-ups awaiting for us today.
Iga Swiatek meets Qinwen Zheng in a rematch of last year’s Olympic semifinals—a match where the Chinese player stunned the Pole on her home turf, where Swiatek has been building her Grand Slam legacy since the early days of her career. Indian Wells is quickly becoming her most beloved hard-court destination, as she continues to break or extend records with each appearance. Swiatek has been in dominant form, not conceding more than two games in any match last week. In her last two encounters against Muchova and Yastremska, she didn’t face a single breakpoint—an almost unreal feat. Winning over 55% of points on her first return in every match further signals a GOAT-tier performance.
Zheng, meanwhile, appears to be heading into a head-on collision in this matchup, though her form in California has been the best she has displayed this season. After a slow start plagued by injuries and just a single match win before Indian Wells, she has put together a strong campaign, dispatching all of her top-50-ranked opponents with solid performances. However, her serve remains inconsistent, with moments of downtime and a tendency to drop a few service games in every match this week.
Mirra Andreeva continues her meteoric rise after winning the WTA 1000 event in Dubai. Her draw at Indian Wells has been anything but easy, as she had to face Clara Tauson in a revenge match for the Dubai final and last year’s Indian Wells champion, Elena Rybakina. Both opponents were dismantled by Andreeva, who allowed them no more than three games each. The scoreline against Rybakina was particularly shocking—the Kazakh star managed just four winners against a staggering 33 unforced errors in such a short match. Despite her renowned serving skills, Rybakina failed to hit a single ace. Andreeva, on the other hand, has been making her own serve a serious weapon, winning 80% of her first-serve points against Rybakina and 75% against Tauson—displaying both power and efficiency at just 16 years old.
Elina Svitolina will be Andreeva’s opponent after pulling off a surprising comeback against Jessica Pegula. The Ukrainian caused an upset by rallying from a set down to take the next two sets 6-1, 6-2. Svitolina has reached the quarterfinals after defeating three American players, with her match against Ashlyn Krueger standing out as the most dramatic—she needed nine match points to finally secure the win.
Belinda Bencic continues her flawless comeback to top-level competition this year. Unseeded, the Swiss player has battled through a brutal draw, defeating three top-20 opponents, including Amanda Anisimova and Coco Gauff. The match against Anisimova was a high-quality showdown, where Bencic edged out the Doha champion in three thrilling sets despite Anisimova’s impressive 39-winner-to-29-unforced-error ratio. Her comeback victory over world No. 3 Gauff was another significant statement, especially given the American’s dip in form in recent weeks.
Bencic’s next challenge won’t be any easier, as she faces Madison Keys in the quarterfinals. The Australian Open champion has returned to competition in strong form, though she had to scrape through tough three-set battles against Elise Mertens and Donna Vekic. Winning a Grand Slam has surely provided Keys with an additional mental edge in grinding out difficult matches, and her upcoming clash with Bencic is shaping up to be another evenly matched contest with no clear favorite.
Aryna Sabalenka arguably has the most favorable draw of all the top seeds. Unlike her main rivals, the world No. 1 has yet to face a top-40 opponent in Indian Wells. However, being the overwhelming favorite comes with its own pressure, and Sabalenka has risen to the occasion with an outstanding serving performance. In round of 16 he defeated the most surprising player achieving this stage - the lucky loser Sonay Kartal with a score 6-1 6-2. She will face Liudmila Samsonova in the quarterfinals. The Russian defeated two highly ranked players - Daria Kasatkina in three sets and Jasmine Paolini with a dismantling performance by 6-0 6-4 which is an impressive stuff, however both Kasatkina and Paolini seem to underperform this season in compare to their high ranks and last year's achievements.
