5 Shocking results from 1R matches at Indian Wells 2025 ft. Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu | BNP Paribas Open

The first-round matches at the BNP Paribas Open were played on Wednesday and Thursday (March 5 and 6) across the men's and women's singles draw. No seeded players were in action as all were given a bye in the second round.

Despite the action being between unseeded players, there were few notable losses from prominent players. On the women's side, Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu lost. There were also some notable losses on the men's side, including Reilly Opelka and Nick Kyrgios.

Let us take a look at some of the shocking first-round losses from the BNP Paribas Open

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#5 Yosuke Watanuki def Alexander Bublik

In Picture: Yosuke Watanuki (Getty)

In a first-round BNP Paribas Open match, World No. 82 Alexander Bublik faced off against World No. 349 Yosuke Watanuki. The Kazakh, a top-20 player as recently as last year was the favorite to win.

Watanuki was coming off the qualifying phase, entering the Indian Wells main draw for the first time in his career. However, the Japanese player drew first blood, winning the first set 6-3. Bublik responded by taking the next set by the same margin. The deciding set was another 6-3 win for Watanuki, giving him the win.

The Japanese player's performance was complete as he outscored Bublik in terms of both service points won (72 percent to 64 percent) and return points won (36 percent to 28 percent). The second serve completely fell off for the Kazazkh player as he could only win 45 percent of the second serve points, whereas his Japanese opponent won 67 percent.

Watanuki will now face 19th-seeded Tomas Machac in the second round.

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#4 Roman Safiullin def Reilly Opelka

In Picture: Roman Safiullin (Getty)

Reilly Opelka was in good form ahead of his home Master 1000 event. The big-serving American player played against Roman Safiullin in the first round with the American expected to win.

However, Opelka's strongest weapon - his serve - failed him in this match. He could only make 63 percent of his first serves, winning only 30 percent of the points on his second serve. He won only 60 percent of his total serve points, which is low for a prolific server like him.

Meanwhile, Safiullin was solid behind his serve, winning 10 percent more service points in the match. The Russian was good on the return, breaking Opelka thrice and saving three of the four break points he faced eventually winning 7-5, 6-4. The Russian is now slated to face 15th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti.

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#3 Botic Van de Zandschulp def Nick Kyrgios

In Picture: Botic Van de Zandschulp (Getty)

Nick Kyrgios' return to the Californian desert was highly anticipated at this year's Indian Wells event. The Australian faced Botic Van de Zandschulp in the first round.

Even though his comeback was after a while, the Australian was favored to win against the Dutch lucky loser, which would set up a tantalizing second-round match with Novak Djokovic.

The first set was competitive as Kyrgios overcame a 1-4 deficit and took the first set to a tiebreak. Despite having a set point, the Australian could not win the first set. Trailing 0-3 in the second set, Kyrgios retired from the match owing to wrist pain, giving the win to Van de Zandschulp.

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#2 Moyuka Uchijima def Emma Raducanu

In one of the most prominent first-round upsets at the BNP Paribas Open, Emma Rducanu lost her first-round match against Moyuka Uchijima. This marks the seventh loss for the British player in her last eight matches of the season.

Raducanu's match stats paint a sorry picture for the former Major champion as both her service and return points win percentage was in the 40s. The Brit could not serve throughout the match, being broken five times. She tried to recover through her return games, breaking her opponent twice but her service frailties caused her to lose 3-6, 2-6.

Uchijama will now face third-seeded Coco Gauff in the next round.

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#1 Camila Osorio def Naomi Osaka

In one of the most headlining upsets in the first round, Naomi Osaka lost 4-6, 4-6 against Colombia's Camila Osorio. Osaka, a former champion at the Californian event, won the title in 2018.

Osaka had shown flashes of brilliance this season, reaching a final and having a decent outing at the Australian Open. But injuries were hampering the former World No. 1 's progress.

However, in the match against Osorio, Osaka hit a wall. She lost her serve at crucial junctures of the match, failing to capitalize on break point opportunities. Even in the last game, with her Colombian opponent serving for the match, Osaka had multiple break points but could not grab the opportunity.

The Japanese player was a harsh critic of her performance as she missed out on a second-round clash against Clara Tauson; she had to retire against Tauson in the final at the ASB Classic.