Indian Wells 2026: indian wells 2026 Draw, Dates and What to Watch
The 2026 BNP Paribas Open is entering its opening week, and indian wells 2026 will feature a public bracket unveiling and a full slate of matches that stretch to mid-March. The draw ceremony is scheduled for Monday, March 2 at 6: 00 p. m. ET at Stadium Plaza in Indian Wells; the main draw begins on Wednesday, March 4 and runs through the men’s final on Sunday, March 15.
Indian Wells 2026: Draw and ceremony
The official bracket ceremony will be held Monday, March 2 at 6: 00 p. m. ET at the tournament plaza. For the first time, television audiences in the United States will be able to watch the draw live; a domestic streaming option will also be available. International viewers are advised to monitor the tournament’s official social channels for bracket updates and announcements. Qualifications run March 1–3, concluding the day before the public unveiling.
Dates, schedule and draw release
Main-draw singles at the BNP Paribas Open begin Wednesday, March 4 and conclude with the men’s final on Sunday, March 15. The women’s singles final is scheduled for Saturday, March 14. The tournament published a set schedule for rounds: qualifiers March 1–3; first and second rounds March 4–7; third round March 8–9; fourth round March 10–11; quarterfinals March 12; semifinals March 13 (women) and March 14 (men); and the singles final on March 15. The main draw will be released closer to the tournament start on March 2, following the bracket ceremony.
Players, seeds and notable entries
The field will include five previous event winners named in event materials, with a full Top 10 presence expected. Based on published rankings, the top seed will be Aryna Sabalenka, followed by Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula as the highest five seeds. Thirty-two seeded players will receive byes into the second round under the tournament’s format. Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams has received a wild card into both singles and doubles and is slated to partner Leylah Fernandez in doubles; additional wild cards will be announced closer to the start.
Format, points and prize pool
The singles draw is 96 players: 76 direct entrants, 12 qualifiers and eight wild cards. Doubles uses a 32-team draw. The BNP Paribas Open awards 1, 000 ranking points for winners in both singles and doubles. The total prize pool is listed at $9, 415, 725 (USD). Event materials include round-by-round point allocations and prize amounts for advancing players.
- Key takeaways: bracket ceremony Monday, March 2 at 6: 00 p. m. ET; main draw starts March 4; 96-player singles draw; $9, 415, 725 total prize pool.
Performance context provided by the event notes Mirra Andreeva as a recent champion at this tournament, with her earlier win described as part of back-to-back WTA 1000 titles. The materials also highlight that top players such as Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys and the world No. 1 are slated to appear; entries remain subject to change before the official draw release. If the seeded structure holds, top seeds will receive second-round byes and will not play until the tournament’s second day for seeded players.
With the bracket unveiled on March 2 and play starting March 4, attention will shift quickly from the ceremony to matchups and potential early-round clashes among seeded and unseeded players. Tournament updates, including the finalized main draw and any late wild-card announcements, are expected at the ceremony and through the tournament’s official channels in the hours that follow.
