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<\/a><\/p>\nThe BNP Paribas Open released its 2026 player entry lists today, with top men\u2019s and women\u2019s players set to descend on the Indian Wells Tennis Garden this March to compete for a coveted title at the first combined ATP Masters\/WTA 1000 event of the season. As a mandatory event on both the ATP and WTA Tour, all top 75 men\u2019s and women\u2019s players are entered to compete in the main draw.<\/p>\n
World No. 1s\u00a0Aryna Sabalenka\u00a0and\u00a0Carlos Alcaraz\u00a0headline the 2026 field as the top seeds. The two-time BNP Paribas Open champion Alcaraz (2023, 2024)\u00a0enters Indian Wells fresh off completing the career Grand Slam at the 2026 Australian Open, while Sabalenka will be looking to avenge her Australian Open final loss to\u00a0Elena Rybakina.\u00a0Rybakina, the 2023 BNP Paribas Open champion, will have her eyes set on a second career title in Indian Wells following her run in Melbourne that saw her capture a second Grand Slam trophy. 24-time Grand Slam champion and five-time BNP Paribas Open champion\u00a0Novak Djokovic\u00a0(2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016)\u00a0has entered the field following his runner-up finish at the 2026 Australian Open \u2013 where he became the oldest player in tournament history to reach the final. Djokovic will aim to make his 17th\u00a0career appearance in Tennis Paradise as he eyes what would be a record-breaking sixth BNP Paribas Open title.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reigning champions\u00a0Jack Draper\u00a0and\u00a0Mirra Andreeva\u00a0enter the 2026 BNP Paribas Open looking to recapture glory after last year\u2019s dream title runs. The 24-year-old Brit claimed the biggest title of his young career last March, knocking off two-time defending champion Alcaraz in the semifinals and Holger Rune in the final to claim his maiden Masters 1000 title. The World No. 13 Draper is looking to get back into form after missing the 2026 Australian Open due to an arm injury. Andreeva\u2019s 2026 title run proved to be just as magical with the teenage phenom becoming the youngest BNP Paribas Open champion since Serena Williams in 1999. She returns to the desert as the World No. 7, where she will aim to recreate the magic of her championship run that included a pair of thrilling wins over World No. 1 Sabalenka and two-time BNP Paribas Open champion\u00a0Iga Swiatek\u00a0(2022, 2024)\u00a0in the final and semifinal respectively.<\/p>\n
Other former champions eyeing another title in the desert include four-time Grand Slam champion and World No. 14\u00a0Naomi Osaka\u00a0(2018),\u00a0as well as World No. 65\u00a0Paula Badosa\u00a0(2021). Returning men\u2019s champions include top-ranked American and World No. 7\u00a0Taylor Fritz\u00a0(2022)\u00a0and\u00a0World No. 26\u00a0Cameron Norrie\u00a0(2021).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
World No. 2\u00a0Jannik Sinner\u00a0is set to make his return to Indian Wells after missing the 2025 event. Sinner will eye an elusive first career title in Tennis Paradise having reached the semifinal in 2023 and 2024. Other Top 5 talents on the ATP side include 2026 Australian Open semifinalist and World No. 4\u00a0Alexander Zverev, as well as\u00a0Lorenzo Musetti\u00a0\u2013 who broke into the Top 5 for the first time in his young career to start the 2026 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No American woman has captured the Indian Wells title since Serena Williams in 2001, and a talented group of top-ranked stars will be looking to break that drought in 2026.\u00a0 Two-time Grand Slam finalist\u00a0Amanda Anisimova\u00a0is the top-ranked American on the women\u2019s side after reaching a career-high World No. 3 ranking this January. She\u2019ll be joined by two-time Grand Slam champion and World No. 5\u00a0Coco Gauff\u00a0and World No. 6\u00a0Jessica Pegula\u00a0as the Americans with the best chance of breaking the title drought in the desert.<\/p>\n
On the American men\u2019s side, World No. 9\u00a0Ben Shelton\u00a0joins Fritz as the Top 10 American players dreaming of a title run in Indian Wells. Former Grand Slam semifinalists\u00a0Tommy Paul\u00a0(World No. 22) and\u00a0Frances Tiafoe\u00a0(World No. 30) round out the list of Top 30 American players coming to Indian Wells, along with Southern California native and World No. 24\u00a0Learner Tien\u00a0\u2013 who recorded the biggest result of his career with a quarterfinal run at the 2026 Australian Open.<\/p>\n
World No. 20\u00a0Iva Jovic\u00a0joins Tien as a newly minted Top 20 American and young talent to watch, with the 18-year-old Southern California native fresh off reaching a career-best quarterfinal at the 2026 Australian Open. Other top Americans fans can look forward to seeing compete on home soil include 2025 Australian Open champion\u00a0Madison Keys\u00a0(World No. 15) and 2024 US Open semifinalist\u00a0Emma Navarro\u00a0(World No. 17).<\/p>\n
Other spotlight names on the player entry lists include two-time Grand Slam finalist\u00a0Jasmine Paolini\u00a0(World No. 8), 10x WTA Tour champion and Olympic Gold Medalist\u00a0Belinda Bencic\u00a0(World No. 9), 2026 Australian Open semifinalist\u00a0Elina Svitolina\u00a0(World No. 10), along with 10x ATP Tour champion\u00a0Alex de Minaur\u00a0(World No. 6), 2025 US Open semifinalist\u00a0Felix Auger-Aliassime\u00a0(World No.8), and two-time BNP Paribas Open finalist\u00a0Daniil Medvedev\u00a0(World No. 11).<\/p>\n
The full player entry lists can be viewed\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0on the BNP Paribas Open website. The remaining spots in the singles player field will be filled by the winners of the qualifying tournament set to take place from March 1-3, as well as wild card recipients on each Tour who will be announced in the coming weeks. The doubles and mixed doubles player fields will be announced at a later date.<\/p>\n All Tickets and Packages for the 2026 BNP Paribas Open are now on-sale and can be purchased\u00a0here<\/a>. Fans tuning in from the United States can stream every match via\u00a0Tennis Channel,<\/a>\u00a0while a full list of international broadcasters can be viewed\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n About the BNP Paribas Open
The BNP Paribas Open is the largest combined ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tennis event in the world, and one of the premier fixtures on tour having been named Tournament of the Year by both the WTA and the ATP Tour for a record-setting ten consecutive years (2015-2025). The 2026 BNP Paribas Open will be held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden from March 1-15.<\/p>\n