{"id":511310,"date":"2026-03-08T14:45:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T14:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/511310\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T14:45:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T14:45:10","slug":"indian-wells-recap-the-strangest-match-point-of-the-year-missing-balls-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/511310\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Wells recap: The strangest match point of the year, missing balls and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Follow The Athletic\u2019s coverage of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells<\/a><\/p>\n

After four days in Palm Desert, the first two rounds of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells are in the books.<\/p>\n

Here are the matches and players that have stood out, some things tennis fans may have missed, and what to look out for in the third round.<\/p>\n

When is a hindrance not a hindrance?<\/p>\n

So far, 2026 is the year of the hindrance<\/a>. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was called on it the Australian Open<\/a>, after making two noises during her usual grunt because she thought one of her shots was going out.<\/p>\n

Then Daniel Altmaier, playing at the Rio de Janeiro Open, lost a point he had won with a brilliant drop shot by crying out in anguish<\/a> because he thought he had missed it.<\/p>\n

At the BNP Paribas Open Saturday, a comical interpretation of the controversial rule decided a match.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s Luciano Darderi was 4-6, 6-2, 5-4, 40-15 down to Rinky Hijikata of Australia in the second round, when he hoisted a lob into the air to defend against an approach to the net by Hijikata.<\/p>\n

Before the ball could come down, Darderi pointed out in front of him and stopped play, appearing to gesture somewhere between Hijikata\u2019s end of the court and the crowd. On the match audio, a spectator clearly and audibly says, \u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Darderi had pointed with first his left hand, and then his racket (in his right hand) the umpire held out a hand and stopped the point.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At the other end of the court, Hijikata, who had been preparing to hit what would have been a difficult baseline smash, was perplexed. He walked toward the net, as Darderi told him that he had said, \u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t say anything mate,\u201d Hijikata said in response.<\/p>\n

The chair umpire then informed Darderi that he would assess the point using video review, because players are not allowed to stop points just because someone in the crowd screams out, annoying as it is.<\/p>\n

As the review went on, Darderi\u2019s perceived order of what had happened changed several times over, including the fleeting belief that he had not done any pointing or stopping until the umpire put out his hand.<\/p>\n

When the review was over, the chair umpire deemed that Darderi had in fact hindered Hijikata by stopping the point, and the match was over.<\/p>\n

\u2014 James Hansen<\/p>\n

No new balls, please?<\/p>\n

One of the strangest moments of the tournament so far came on Friday during the second-round match between No. 17 seed Clara Tauson and Yulia Putintseva.<\/p>\n

Tauson was about to serve, up 4-3, when play was temporarily suspended. Not because of bad weather or an issue with a spectator in the crowd, but because there weren\u2019t any new balls for the players to play with. Rules dictate that after the warm-up and first seven games, there is a change of balls, followed by another change every nine games for the rest of the match.<\/p>\n

After about 15 minutes, play resumed with a delivery of new balls, with Tauson going on to win 7-6(9), 6-2. The ball changes were already a topic of discussion because of the tournament\u2019s change from Penn to Dunlop, with multiple players saying that the difference between new and old is more pronounced. But this was a good old-fashioned bit of strangeness, which was a feature of the first few days, with Mirra Andreeva and Solana Sierra\u2019s match delayed Saturday because the net on their court required replacing.<\/p>\n

And before that, here was no water for 45-year-old Venus Williams at the end of the second set against Diane Parry, played in the heat of the afternoon on Thursday. Though energy drinks were available in her cooler, Williams preferred water and requested it multiple times.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can\u2019t get the waters, I\u2019m calling the referee,\u201d she said, before water was hurriedly brought out to her. \u201cIt is extremely unfair. No, it\u2019s not OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the wind typically strong during the match, Williams said in a news conference after losing 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1 that: \u201cThe conditions are impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not exactly tennis paradise for her, balls or not.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n

What is pressure in tennis?<\/p>\n

World No. 2 Iga \u015awi\u0105tek\u2019s opening match at the BNP Paribas Open pitted her against Kayla Day, an American qualifier. Day started the match with nothing to lose, but was unable to play with the freedom such a situation can afford. \u015awi\u0105tek raced into a 6-0 lead, delivering one of her trademark \u201cbagel\u201d sets and taking her proportion of total WTA 1000 sets won by that scoreline to a staggering 11 percent.<\/p>\n

Then, \u015awi\u0105tek said in her news conference, she \u201cdrifted off a little bit.\u201d Her first-serve percentage dropped and some errors crept in, but Day, who already had no pressure on her, raised her level significantly higher after being bageled and therefore having even less to lose. She racked up a 5-1 lead, arcing the ball left and right and upping the intensity of her attacking play as \u015awi\u0105tek, the overwhelming favorite with the \u201ceasy\u201d draw reckoned with the overwhelming pressure of potentially losing a match she was supposed to win.<\/p>\n

Then, with Day a game from forcing a deciding set, she started trying to get over the line, rather than trying to crash through it. \u015awi\u0105tek\u2019s aggressiveness returned as Day\u2019s faded, and the American never saw a set point despite having a 5 next to her name on the scoreboard. She played more freely again from 5-5 onward, once the opportunity to win the set had gone, but when the tiebreak arrived, it was \u015awi\u0105tek who seized the initiative again to win 6-0, 7-6(2).<\/p>\n

These pressure dynamics are crucial to tennis matches. After a three-set win over Britain\u2019s Jacob Fearnley, 2022 Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz said in his news conference that \u201cyou feel the pressure the most when you\u2019re kind of in a situation where you\u2019re meant to win, or you\u2019re in a position to win and you don\u2019t want to blow the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

This dynamic happens even in contests between players at the very top of the sport, especially in matchups that are initially one-sided. The rankings gulf between \u015awi\u0105tek and Day, at 185 places, only made it clearer.<\/p>\n

\u2014 James Hansen<\/p>\n

Other notable results in the first two rounds
\nDefending champions Jack Draper<\/a> (14) and Mirra Andreeva<\/a> (8) won through in very different styles, as they both look to emerge from a challenging few months. Draper, who is returning in earnest from a longterm elbow injury, defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 after an indifferent start. But Andreeva was literally flawless, beating Solana Sierra 6-0, 6-0.
\nThe world No. 1 and No. 2 on both tours safely navigated their opening matches. Carlos Alcaraz (1) and Aryna Sabalenka (1) beat Grigor Dimitrov (6-2, 6-3) and Himeno Sakatsume (Q) (6-4, 6-2) respectively, while Jannik Sinner (2) cruised past Dalibor Svr\u010dina (Q) 6-1, 6-1 and Iga \u015awi\u0105tek (2) came from 5-1 down in the second set to beat Kayla Day (Q) 6-0, 7-6(2).
\nWild card Donna Veki\u0107\u2018s 7-6(4), 7-6(4) win over Tereza Valentov\u00e1 was one of the most impressive of the opening round, as was Alex Eala (31)\u2018s\u00a0thrilling late-night win 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 over Dayana Yastremska.
\nCoco Gauff (4) forced her way past Kamilla Rakhimova in a more complicated match for the American than a 6-3, 7-6(5) scoreline suggests, while Amanda Anisimova (6)\u2018s 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 win over Anna Blinkova had a a similar feel.
\nCamila Osorio saved three match points and produced a chameleonic, more powerful performance than usual to knock out Iva Jovi\u0107 (18) 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, while Talia Gibson (Q) upset Ekaterina Alexandrova (11) 6-3, 7-5.
\nM\u00e1rton Fucsovics stunned Lorenzo Musetti (5) 7-5, 6-1 on the Italian\u2019s return from injury, while Ben Shelton (8) came through illness to squeak past Reilly Opelka 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-3.
\nDrop Shots<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf34 Why the Williams sisters chose to boycott Indian Wells for over a decade<\/a> \u2014 and why Serena and Venus came back.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd70\ufe0f Emma Raducanu wants to take her tennis back in time<\/a>, starting in the California desert.<\/p>\n

\u2708\ufe0f How one tennis player, his family and his doubles partner traveled away from the missile and drone strikes on Dubai<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf2a\ufe0f The wind rules over Indian Wells<\/a>. This is how players cope.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf1 After a tennis player shared menacing messages sent to her personal phone<\/a>, the WTA Tour told players there has been no data breach.<\/p>\n

Up next: Third round<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Emma Raducanu (25) vs. Amanda Anisimova (6)<\/p>\n

3 p.m. ET (estimated) on Tennis Channel<\/p>\n

An early test of Raducanu\u2019s convictions in being more aggressive against one of the standout players of 2025. Anisimova, like Raducanu, has had a searching start to the season, with her Qatar Open title defense hampered by illness and several matches, including wins, featuring extended periods of irritation with her tennis.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Ben Shelton (8) vs. Learner Tien (25)<\/p>\n

Not before 4 p.m. ET on Tennis Channel<\/p>\n

An intriguing matchup \u2014 if Shelton has gotten over the physical issues and illness that made his second-round win over Opelka a grind. Tien is revelling in the home-state support in California, and embracing the change in pressure caused by going from a rising talent to a known quantity.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Coco Gauff (4) vs. Alex Eala (31)<\/p>\n

Not before 9 p.m. ET on Tennis Channel<\/p>\n

Eala and Gauff met at the Dubai Tennis Championships, and a one-sided win for Gauff revealed the fundamental asymmetries in the matchup. Gauff gets to lean on her backhand against left-handers, and can loop her own forehand into theirs to get that pattern started if she needs to do so. There will also be intriguing crowd dynamics, with Gauff\u2019s home support and Eala\u2019s legion of fans.<\/p>\n

Jo\u00e3o Fonseca vs. Tommy Paul (23)<\/p>\n

11 p.m. ET (estimated) on Tennis Channel<\/p>\n

Following Gauff and Eala on Stadium 1 is an intriguing match between Fonseca\u2019s sledgehammer power and Paul\u2019s skittering all-court tennis. If the American can absorb Fonseca and draw him into errors he will be the favorite, but the Brazilian is one of the people who can just hit right through the Indian Wells courts and cold nights.<\/p>\n

Tell us what you noticed in the first two rounds\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow The Athletic\u2019s coverage of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells After four days in Palm Desert,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":["post-511310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}