A host of top singles stars joined forces in Flushing Meadows last summer, though doubles specialists Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori ultimately retained their title, beating the blockbuster pairing of Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud in the final. While ‘Raducaraz’ won’t be back in action in the Californian desert, Swiatek is set to link back up with Ruud.
The Eisenhower Cup takes place on Tuesday, before the main draw gets underway in Indian Wells. Reigning champions Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz will be back to try and defend their crown, with Rybakina full of confidence after lifting her second Grand Slam title in Melbourne last month.
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World No. 2 Swiatek will team up with Ruud for the first time at Indian Wells, following their run to the US Open mixed doubles final in August. The pair won three matches together before finishing runner-up in New York, beating Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, Caty McNally and Lorenzo Musetti, and Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper.
They have a good relationship off the court, and at the end of the 2025, Ruud gave Swiatek a special shoutout during an interview with Express Sport. Asked which players had impressed him the most during the season, the world No. 12 said: “I would say maybe Iga winning Wimbledon was probably a surprise to many.
“She’s been kind of stamped as a clay-court player, she’s won Roland Garros four times, so to win Wimbledon is a little bit surprising for a ‘clay’ player, if you can call it that. So I would say that was really, really impressive.”
All-American duos Emma Navarro and Ben Shelton, and Pegula and Tommy Paul will also be part of the eight-team Eisenhower Cup field. Amanda Anisimova will team up with Andrey Rublev, while reigning Indian Wells champion Mirra Andreeva joins forces with Daniil Medvedev.
Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Italian pair Jasmine Paolini and Matteo Berrettini complete the line-up. Fernandez is also expected to compete alongside Venus Williams in the women’s doubles event in California, following their US Open quarter-final run last summer.
World No. 1s Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka have decided not to compete this year. Sabalenka previously won the Eisenhower Cup with Fritz. Alcaraz, meanwhile, lost in the first round of the US Open mixed doubles competition with Alcaraz last year. He then played an exhibition 10-point tiebreak with Pegula during the off-season after Raducanu was forced to withdraw from the friendly.