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BNP Paribas live: Eisenhower Cup offers evening fun, pairings set for men & women

Matt Solinsky and Shad Powers, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·8 min read

It's March and that means the BNP Paribas Open is underway at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Celebrating its 50th year, the event remains the largest two-week combined WTA and ATP tournament outside of the four Grand Slams. Well be chronicling the action on and off the court daily in Indian Wells as nearly all of the top 75 men's and women's players put on a show for the next two weeks.

Tuesday qualifying winners

A lot is on the line for ATP and WTA qualifying matches Tuesday as winners will feed into the main draw action that begins Wednesday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Americans Bernarda Pera, Taylor Townsend, Robin Montgomery and Ethan Quinn were part of a quartet of Americans who advanced with three-set victories on Tuesday.

Pera beat Camila Osorio 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, while Quinn won a thrilling match over Andrea Vavassori 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

In an all-American match, Taylor Townsend defeated Clervie Ngounoue 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Other Tuesday winners on the men's side included Thiago Seyboth Wild, Lukas Klein, Shintaro Mochizuki, Hugo Grenier and Seongchan Hong.

On the women's side, other winners included Americans Hailey Baptiste and Liv Hovde, Rebeka Masarova, Sara Errani, Rebecca Sramkova, Mai Hontama and Nao Hibino.

– Matt Solinsky

Eisenhower Cup brings mixed doubles to life

The BNP Paribas Open doesn’t feature mixed doubles, but tennis fans again will have a chance to see some of the top-ranked men and women in the world team up at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening with gates opening to Stadium 2 at 5:30 p.m.

The Eisenhower Cup presented by Masimo returns to feature eight pairings that will compete in a fast-paced mixed doubles format to raise money for local charities. The Tie Break Tens format consists of first to 10-point tie break matches. There will be an eight-team single elimination draw, with a total of seven matches being held over the course of the evening.The following 2024 duos are confirmed to compete:

  • World No. 1 and 2022 BNP Paribas Open champion Iga Swiatek + world No. 8 Hubert Hurkacz

  • 2023 and 2024 Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka + 2022 BNP Paribas Open champion Taylor Fritz

  • 2018 Australian Open champion, 2011 BNP Paribas Open champion Caroline Wozniacki + world No. 7 Holger Rune

  • World No. 4, 2023 BNP Paribas Open champion Elena Rybakina + world No. 5 Andrey Rublev

  • World No. 5 Jessica Pegula + world No. 14 Tommy Paul

  • World No. 7, 2024 Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng + world No. 15 Frances Tiafoe

  • Former NCAA champions Emma Navarro (world No. 23) + Ben Shelton (world No. 16)

  • 2021 BNP Paribas Open champion Paula Badosa + world No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas

Sabalenka and Fritz took the title last year in the first-ever mixed doubles Eisenhower Cup, defeating Swiatek and Hurkacz in the final in front of an energetic crowd of nearly 5,000 fans.

– Andrew L. John

New outdoor gym in players' lawn

The player's lawn is a fun place to watch the pros play in their natural habitat. You get to see them play soccer, do yoga, work with their trainers and even socialize and hang out with each other. When they leave the lawn it's also a great time to get autographs.

This year the lawn has a new area set back in the corner, an outdoor gym. It's in the shade and there are exercise bikes, free weights and other useful items for outdoor exercise as some of the world's best athletes take advantage of the opportunity to stay in shape or wind down after a workout.

The players' lawn at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden has a new amenity this year. An outdoor gym with a shade structure is now located in the southwest corner of the grassy area where players work out, do yoga, play soccer and just generally socialize.
The players' lawn at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden has a new amenity this year. An outdoor gym with a shade structure is now located in the southwest corner of the grassy area where players work out, do yoga, play soccer and just generally socialize.

— Shad Powers

Unseeded Rafael Nadal draws Milos Raonic in first round, No. 7 Holger Rune in second

Tournament organizers were on pins and needles as the men's draw unfolded Monday afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and that was because of one popular name that was to be placed randomly in the draw: Rafael Nadal.

Nadal, one of the game's all-time legends, missed most of 2023 with a hip injury and as a result is not among the 32 seeded players who have a protected spot in the draw. So Nadal's name could've popped up as Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz's first opponent of the tournament, which would've been the tournament's worst nightmare. But everyone can breathe a little easier.

Nadal, winner of 22 Grand Slams and a three-time champion at Indian Wells, will start by playing Milos Raonic, a former finalist here, on Thursday night. If Nadal wins, he would then have a very tough second-round match against the No. 7 seed Holger Rune.

If getting past Rune weren't difficult enough, if he were to make a miracle run and win this tournament, Nadal would have to go through a murderer's row that would also includes Taylor Fritz in the round of 16, Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and Carlos Alcaraz in the final if seeds hold.

– Shad Powers

Three American men win Monday qualifiers

After the women started qualifying action Sunday, the men also took the courts Monday.

In early action, Americans Ethan Quinn, Nicolas Moreno De Alboran and Zachary Svajda advanced with victories. Svajda needed three sets for his win.

Other men winning first qualifying matches included Benjamin Hassan, Thiago Seyboth Wild, Alex Molcan, Shintaro Mochizuki, Andrea Vavassori, Sumit Nagal, Lukas Klein, Seongchan Hong, Hugo Grenier, Constant Lestienne, Vit Kopriva and Liam Broady.

Americans Hailey Baptiste, Taylor Townsend and Clervie Ngounoue each won their women’s second-day qualifiers in straight sets. Other women's winners included Storm Hunter, Erika Andreeva, Camila Osorio, Harriet Dart and Nadia Podoroska.

– Matt Solinsky

Watch the tournament draws live at 3 p.m. Monday

One of the fun activities Monday is always the making of the tournament draw for both the men's and women's fields.

So grab some paper and follow along as the ATP and WTA draws are made at Stadium Plaza at 3 p.m. Then have some fun filling our your brackets and predicting who will make the quarterfinals, semifinals or even the championship matches on Sunday, March 17.

– Matt Solinsky

Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal put on a show in Vegas

In a first-of-its-kind exhibition, Netflix aired a live exhibition tennis match Sunday as Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal squared off inside the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

The arena was full and celebrities like Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Pau Gasol, Mike Tyson and Charlize Theron were on hand to watch, as were other pro tennis players who took the side-trip to Vegas before heading to Indian Wells.

And the match, dubbed the Netflix Slam, didn't disappoint. While the atmosphere was more akin to a party than a tennis match, both players took it seriously. Nadal, who missed most of 2023 with a hip injury that required surgery, was a major test for the World No. 2 Alcaraz, but in the end, Alcaraz won a 10-point tiebreaker 14-12 after the two split a pair of sets. Alcaraz won 3-6, 6-4 (14-12).

Both players will now head to Indian Wells with Nadal beginning his BNP Paribas Open on Thursday night. Alcaraz's first match will be either Friday or Saturday.

— Shad Powers

Watch ATP, WTA qualifying matches Monday and Tuesday for $10

Qualifying began earlier than ever Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and continues Monday with men's and women's qualifying matches on the adjoining courts.

In addition to qualifying matches, don't forget to check out a full slate of practice sessions involving many of the game's stars. Fans can get up close with their favorite players with 20 practice courts across the grounds. If you are lucky enough, you might even catch an autograph or selfie with your favorite player.

Tickets for Monday and Tuesday are just $10 with ticket proceeds benefiting local charities.

Among Sunday's qualifying winners were Americans Kayla Day, Bernarda Pera, Liv Hovde, Robin Montgomery and Claire Liu, Swiss-born Rebeka Masarova, Linda Fruhvirtova, Clara Tauson, Rebecca Sramkova, Mai Hontama, Nao Hibino, Arina Rodionova, Sara Errani, Jessika Ponchet and Su-Wei Hsieh.

– Matt Solinsky

Top stars: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff among 10 must-see players at BNP Paribas Open

Stars come out early at Indian Wells: Venus Williams, Naomi Osaka

Qualifying matches started Sunday at Indian Wells, but already alert fans noticed some tennis superstars on the grounds working on their games.

Venus Williams, 43, was spotted Sunday as the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion makes her first trip to Indian Wells since 2019. Williams practiced with 2023 FILA Junior Championships winner Clervie Ngounoue, who earned a qualifying wild card after winning last year's inaugural junior title.

Naomi Osaka, the 2018 Indian Wells champion, practiced in Stadium 1 with Karolina Pliskova during Sunday morning.

World No. 17 Ben Shelton put on a show for fans Sunday on the practice courts and then graciously signed autographs for many kids afterward.

Stadium 1 also saw 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Christopher Eubanks working out with practice partner Coco Gauff.

Who will fans catch a glimpse of Monday?

– Matt Solinsky

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas: Venus Williams, Naomi Osaka, Ben Shelton in Indian Wells