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At the 2025 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and three other WTA stars would be especially keen on mustering deep runs. Gauff, Swiatek, and the three others have so far failed to convince this season, and the WTA 1000 event in the Californian desert is set to give them the perfect opportunity to bounce back and rediscover their best form.
With the women's singles main draw matches at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells slated to get started on Wednesday, March 5, let's take a closer look at the WTA stars who need to do well to kickstart their respective seasons.
1. Coco Gauff
2024 ended on a high note for Coco Gauff, as she stormed to the prestigious China Open and WTA Finals titles. However, so far this year, the World No. 3 has displayed only glimpses of her brilliance, with inconsistencies leading to disappointing exits from several major tournaments.
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Gauff's first competitive outing in the 2025 season came at the United Cup, as she spearheaded the USA's charge to the title at the international mixed-team tennis tournament. It was a bright start, but since then, things have rapidly unraveled for the 2023 US Open champion.
At the Australian Open, Gauff reached the quarterfinals, where she was stunned by a resurgent Paula Badosa. Next, at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, she was outplayed in her opening match by Marta Kostyuk. Another chastening experience followed at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. This time around, Gauff suffered another early exit following a shocking loss to compatriot McCartney Kessler.
Last year, Gauff reached the semifinals at Indian Wells, and a similar finish, if not better, wouldn't be bad for the WTA No. 3.
2. Iga Swiatek
Former No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek's fate has been similar to that of Gauff so far in 2025. The Pole was rocked by a doping controversy towards the end of the previous season but made a promising start to this year with a semifinal run at the Australian Open. However, in the semifinals in Melbourne, eventual champion Madison Keys overwhelmed her.
In Qatar, Swiatek once again reached the semis but put in an uncharacteristically abject display against Jelena Ostapenko. The Pole, despite her dominance on the WTA Tour in recent years, is yet to taste victory against the Latvian in five tour-level encounters.
Next up in Dubai, the WTA No. 2 reached the quarterfinals and was the favorite to win against 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva. The teenager, though, had other ideas, as she remarkably registered a straight-set victory. A frustrated Swiatek later refused to shake coach Wim Fissette's hand following the bitterly disappointing result. Swiatek is the defending champion at Indian Wells this time, having also won the prestigious hard-court tournament in 2022.
3. Elena Rybakina
Much of the 2025 season so far for Elena Rybakina has revolved around her relationship with coach Stefano Vukov. The Croatian coach is currently serving an indefinite ban slapped on him by the WTA after a thorough investigation suggested that he had repeatedly subjected Rybakina to verbal abuse. The fiasco even led to Goran Ivanisevic leaving the Kazakh's camp following the Australian Open, where Rybakina lost to Madison Keys in the fourth round.
A promising semifinal run followed at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, but Belinda Bencic proved too hot to handle for the 2022 Wimbledon champion in the last four. At the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, Rybakina lost in straight sets to Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.
Another semifinal run came shortly after in Dubai, but once again, the Kazakh couldn't make it to the final, with eventual champion Mirra Andreeva stopping her in her tracks. Recently, fitness trainer Azuz Simcich left Rybakina's camp as well, fueling further uncertainty over the dynamics in her camp. The WTA No. 7 won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells two years ago after emerging victorious over reigning No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
4. Ons Jabeur
The glory days of Ons Jabeur seem to have well and truly faded. The creative, clever, and crafty Tunisian reached the Wimbledon final in 2022 and then again in 2023, but after losing both of those, her form drastically dipped, and it wasn't helped at all by her persistent injury woes since then.
The former No. 2 is currently not even a top 30 player, and even though there have been some promising signs of a resurgence this season, she desperately needs a big confidence boost to get back to her best. So far in 2025, Jabeur has registered quarterfinal finishes at the Brisbane International, the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, and the Qatar Total Energies Open.
However, there have been poor results as well. At the Adelaide International, the Tunisian fell in the second round, and at the Australian Open, Emma Navarro ousted her in the third round. More recently, at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Jabeur's hopes came crashing down as Peyton Stearns inflicted a first-round defeat on the former No. 2. The Tunisian's best finish at Indian Wells came in 2021 when she made it to the semifinals.
5. Sloane Stephens
The days of Sloane Stephens being a US Open champion and a WTA No. 3 seem to have become a thing of the past. The American currently finds herself languishing outside the top 100 on the WTA Tour rankings, but it isn't a surprise considering her recent run of results.
Stephens got her 2025 tennis season underway at the ASB Classic in Auckland and was ousted from the tournament following a first-round loss to compatriot Ann Li. Another first-round defeat at the hands of Li followed shortly after at the Hobart International, but Stephens' on-court woes this year didn't end there.
At the Australian Open, she crumbled to a 3-6, 2-6 loss to reigning No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in yet another opening-round exit. Stephens' latest outing at the Merida Open marked her fourth successive first-round loss, this time to Petra Martic. Dismally, Stephens has only managed to win a single set this year, and several fans have urged her to consider retirement. The American's quarterfinal finish in 2014 remains her best result at Indian Wells to this day.
