INDIAN WELLS — How’s this for a loaded second-round Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open? The winners of the three biggest titles so far on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz are all in action:

Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina versus Hailey Baptiste.
Dubai 1000 winner Jessica Pegula versus wild card Donna Vekic.
Doha 1000 titlist Karolina Muchova versus Anna Bondar.

Throw in three 500-level winners — Iga Swiatek and Poland at the United Cup, Mirra Andreeva in Adelaide and last week’s Merida champion Cristina Bucsa — and you have a truly stellar dance card with the 16 seeds from the bottom half of the draw playing their first matches.

Rybakina, the 2023 champion here, calls these desert conditions “quite slow,” but she’s found a way to compile an 11-3 record in Tennis Paradise. Her tour-leading 101 aces will always make her a threat.

“Rallies a little bit longer,” Rybakina said. “Not easy to get these short points, free points. So you need to work for each point.”

In other words, patience is a virtue. Sorry, but we can’t wait for Saturday. Here are a few more compelling storylines:

Swiatek looks for a reset

While Rybakina prefers her surfaces lightning quick, No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek loves the pace of play on these courts, which give her a little more time to maneuver. She’s seeking her third BNP Paribas Open title in five years and owns a gaudy 22-3 record here — a winning percentage of .880, second only to Steffi Graf’s 17-2, .895.

Swiatek meets qualifier Kayla Day, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Francesca Jones in the first round. They have never played. Swiatek has won 32 straight opening matches in WTA 1000s and a staggering 72 straight in all WTA encounters.

This could be just the thing to get Swiatek, 9-4 so far this year, going.

“For sure, the results haven’t been what I would wish for, because most of the tournaments I lost somewhere around quarterfinals,” Swiatek said. “I’m not putting too much pressure on myself, and I feel like I can really lower the expectations and just focus on the work and see how it’s going to go.”

Andreeva eyes a rare repeat

Mirra Andreeva is your defending champion after becoming the third youngest Indian Wells winner since Martina Hingis (1998) and Serena Williams (1999). News flash: Andreeva, the No. 8 seed, is still only 18 years old.

Last year, Andreeva won back-to-back 1000 events in Dubai and Indian Wells. A few weeks ago in Dubai, she said, she didn’t feel pressure to repeat — but, rather, excitement.

“Here is the same thing,” Andreeva said. “I’m just so excited to be here as a defending champion, see my photos almost everywhere in every corner.”

For the first time, Andreeva faces Solana Sierra, a fierce 7-5, 7-5 winner over Austin Open champion Peyton Stearns. Andreeva is looking to become only the second woman to repeat here, after Martina Navratilova in 1990-91.

30-something sensations

They are, against great odds, playing the best tennis of their lives.

No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula, 32, is a robust 13-2 after winning Dubai. No. 9 Elina Svitolina, 31, is a smoking 15-3 with a title in Auckland and a semifinal run in Melbourne. Those 15 match-wins lead all WTA Tour players.

Pegula holds a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over wild card Donna Vekic (who turns 30 in June) and is trying to reach her eighth consecutive semifinal.

Svitolina takes on Laura Siegemund, who was a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 first-round winner over Petra Marcinko. Siegemund celebrated her 38th birthday on Wednesday. Svitolina, who won their only previous match, will be playing her 29th main-draw match here, second only to Venus Williams’ 30.

An unqualified success

Six bottom-half qualifiers lined up on Thursday — and four of them advanced to the second round against higher-ranked opponents.

Taylor Townsend, a mom who turns 30 next month, ought to be tired after reaching the singles and doubles finals last week in Austin. Or after winning two qualifying matches and her first-rounder over Marie Bouzkova.

“I feel really great, actually,” Townsend said afterward.

Townsend, who was ranked No. 119 going into Austin, is back in the Top 100 and a win over No. 28 Marta Kostyuk would send her inside the Top 75.

Diane Parry, who prevailed in a three-setter over venerable Venus Williams, faces No. 15 Madison Keys. Storm Hunter, who came back to defeat Magdalena Frech 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, meets No. 12 Belinda Bencic.

BNP Paribas Open — Order of Play
Saturday, March 7

Stadium 1

Start: 11:00 a.m.

• Hailey Baptiste vs. [3] Elena Rybakina

Not before 1:00 p.m.
• [3] Novak Djokovic vs. Kamil Majchrzak
• [1] Carlos Alcaraz vs. Grigor Dimitrov

Not before 6:00 p.m.
• [5] Jessica Pegula vs. Donna Vekic
• [11] Daniil Medvedev vs. Alejandro Tabilo

Stadium 2

Start: 11:00 a.m.

• Roberto Bautista Agut vs. [14] Jack Draper

Not before 1:00 p.m.
• Kayla Day vs. [2] Iga Swiatek
• [8] Mirra Andreeva vs. Solana Sierra

Not before 6:00 p.m.
• Jacob Fearnley vs. [7] Taylor Fritz

Not before 8:00 p.m.
• Laura Siegemund vs. [9] Elina Svitolina

Stadium 3

Start: 11:00 a.m.

• Alexander Shevchenko vs. [13] Casper Ruud
• [16] Karen Khachanov vs. Joao Fonseca
• Sebastian Korda vs. [6] Alex de Minaur
• [15] Madison Keys vs. Diane Parry
• [28] Marta Kostyuk vs. Taylor Townsend

Stadium 4

Start: 11:00 a.m.

• [32] Maria Sakkari vs. Lilli Tagger
• Sonay Kartal vs. [20] Emma Navarro
• Katerina Siniakova vs. [27] Leylah Fernandez

Not before 3:00 p.m.
• [10] Alexander Bublik vs. [LL] Vit Kopriva
• [32] Ugo Humbert vs. Alex Michelsen

Stadium 5

Start: 11:00 a.m.

• [19] Francisco Cerundolo vs. [Q] Benjamin Bonzi
• [24] Valentin Vacherot vs. Nuno Borges
• Juan Manuel Cerundolo vs. [26] Arthur Rinderknech
• [Q] Rinky Hijikata vs. [20] Luciano Darderi

Stadium 6

Start: 11:00 a.m.

• Aleksandar Kovacevic vs. [31] Corentin Moutet
• [17] Andrey Rublev vs. Gabriel Diallo
• [27] Cameron Norrie vs. [Q] Mackenzie McDonald
• Alexandra Eala / Iva Jovic vs. Hailey Baptiste / Jelena Ostapenko

Not before 5:00 p.m.
• Sebastian Baez vs. [22] Jiri Lehecka

Stadium 7

Start: 11:00 a.m.

• Storm Hunter vs. [12] Belinda Bencic
• Katie Volynets vs. [26] Jelena Ostapenko
• Storm Hunter / Maya Joint vs. [8] Ellen Perez / Demi Schuurs
• [22] Elise Mertens vs. Cristina Bucsa

Stadium 9

Start: 11:00 a.m.

• [13] Karolina Muchova vs. Anna Bondar
• [19] Liudmila Samsonova vs. Ashlyn Krueger

Not before 3:00 p.m.
• Antonia Ruzic vs. [24] Qinwen Zheng
• Ingrid Neel / Peyton Stearns vs. Miyu Kato / Fanny Stollar
• Ulrikke Eikeri / Xinyu Jiang vs. [2] Gabriela Dabrowski / Luisa Stefani