Sabalenka and Mboko headline a high-stakes Friday

The 2026 BNP Paribas Open enters its next gear as the opening-round dust settles and the world’s top seeds finally take the court. Following two days of high-stakes qualifiers and veteran battles, the Friday schedule marks the arrival of the tour’s heavyweights on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, with four of the world’s Top 10 women in singles action. 

Sabalenka returns to action for the first time since the Australian Open final

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka returns to the court for the first time since the Australian Open, headlining Friday’s afternoon session on Stadium 1 against Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume. Sabalenka, who opened her 2026 campaign with a title run in Brisbane, arrives in the desert well-rested after electing to bypass the Middle East swing in February. After falling just short in the 2025 final to Mirra Andreeva, the top seed is looking to leverage her fresh legs to secure a first Indian Wells crown and extend her lead at the top of the rankings.

Teenage stars Mboko and Andreeva back in the spotlight

The teenage takeover continues as Victoria Mboko enters the tournament as a Top 10 seed for the first time, facing Kimberly Birrell at 11 a.m. local time. This marks her first appearance in the Indian Wells main-draw for the 19-year-old Canadian, whose rise to World No. 10 was solidified by a finals appearance in Doha last month. Meanwhile,  Andreeva — who took down the field last year at just 17 — begins her Indian Wells campaign on the doubles court Friday alongside Mboko. Andreeva enters the week looking to become the first woman since Martina Navratilova in 1991 to successfully defend the singles crown.

Gauff searches for rhythm ahead of a potential showdown with Eala

World No. 4 Coco Gauff takes to the main stage against Kamilla Rakhimova, aiming to sharpen her form after a testing run in the Middle East. A victory for Gauff could set up a highly anticipated third-round encounter with the No. 31 seed and rising star Alexandra Eala. The Filipino talent, who reached the Miami semifinals last year and recently broke into the Top 40, received a first-round bye and will face Dayana Yastremska in the evening session on Stadium 3.

Indian Wells Order of Play – Friday, March 6

Stadium 1: Start 11 a.m.

ATP – Matteo Berrettini vs. [4] Alexander Zverev

Not Before 1:00 PM: WTA – [1] Aryna Sabalenka vs. Himeno Sakatsume

WTA – [4] Coco Gauff vs. Kamilla Rakhimova

Not Before 6:00 PM: ATP – [Q] Dalibor Svrcina vs. [2] Jannik Sinner

Not Before 8:00 PM: WTA – Anna Blinkova vs. [6] Amanda Anisimova

Stadium 2: Start 11 a.m.

WTA – [10] Victoria Mboko vs. Kimberly Birrell

ATP – [8] Ben Shelton vs. Reilly Opelka

ATP – Jenson Brooksby vs. [21] Frances Tiafoe

Not Before 6:00 PM: WTA – Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva vs. [16] Naomi Osaka

ATP – Zizou Bergs vs. [23] Tommy Paul

Stadium 3: Start 11 a.m. 

ATP – Adam Walton vs. [25] Learner Tien

ATP – [5] Lorenzo Musetti vs. Marton Fucsovics

ATP – [WC] Gael Monfils vs. [9] Felix Auger-Aliassime

Not Before 6:00 PM: WTA – [18] Iva Jovic vs. Camila Osorio

WTA – Dayana Yastremska vs. [31] Alexandra Eala

Stadium 4: Start 11 a.m. 

WTA – [25] Emma Raducanu vs. Anastasia Zakharova

WTA – [21] Diana Shnaider vs. Sorana Cirstea

WTA – Anastasia Potapova vs. [7] Jasmine Paolini

Not Before 3:00 PM: ATP – [29] Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Denis Shapovalov

ATP – Marcos Giron vs. [12] Jakub Mensik

Stadium 5: Start 11 a.m.

WTA – Jessica Bouzas Maneiro vs. [14] Linda Noskova

WTA – [7] C. Bucsa / N. Melichar-Martinez vs. D. Jurak Schreiber / G. Olmos

Not Before 2:00 PM: ATP – [Q] Dino Prizmic vs. [30] Arthur Fils

WTA – [3] K. Siniakova / T. Townsend vs. E. Raducanu / E. Ruse

WTA – B. Bencic / S. Cirstea vs. Y. Xu / Z. Yang

Stadium 6: Start 11:00 a.m.

ATP – [15] Flavio Cobolli vs. Miomir Kecmanovic

WTA – [5] A. Danilina / A. Krunic vs. S. Stephens / D. Vekic

ATP – [28] Brandon Nakashima vs. Camilo Ugo Carabelli

Not Before 3:00 PM: WTA – M. Andreeva / V. Mboko vs. [4] E. Mertens / S. Zhang

ATP – [18] A. Davidovich Fokina vs. [WC] Zachary Svajda

Stadium 7: Start 11 a.m.

WTA – Yulia Putintseva vs. [17] Clara Tauson

WTA – [30] Xinyu Wang vs. Ajla Tomljanovic

WTA – Jaqueline Cristian vs. [29] Maya Joint

WTA – A. Panova / L. Siegemund vs. [6] A. Muhammad / E. Routliffe

Stadium 9: Start 11 a.m. 

WTA – [11] Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Talia Gibson

WTA – Zeynep Sonmez vs. [23] Anna Kalinskaya

WTA – C. McNally / L. Samsonova vs. E. Alexandrova / S. Kenin