WTA Indian Wells: our expectations for the 2025 women's tournament
by Cydias Aujard | by Cydias Aujard
Swiatek will be there, Sabalenka too
The Polish player will be back again this year for your Indian Wells predictions, as the number 2 seed, and in her first round she will face the winner of the duel between France's Caroline Garcia and the American Bernarda Pera. But Iga Swiatek is unlikely to treble her tally in this women's tournament. A three-time title holder in Doha, she failed to repeat her feat of winning a fourth title, losing in the semi-finals to Jelena Ostapenko a few days ago. It was a tough defeat that should put a slight dent in her confidence.
The number 1 seed is, unsurprisingly, world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and she is unlikely to be a real contender for the title. Indeed, since her defeat by Madison Keys in the final of the Australian Open Grand Slam in January, the Russian seems to have struggled to recover from that setback. Stopped in the first round in Doha by Ekaterina Alexandrova, she then failed to progress beyond the second round in Dubai, losing to Clara Tauson (ranked 21st in the world) without winning a set. The courts of Indian Wells didn't seem to suit her last year either, as the young woman lost in the last eight to Emma Navarro after losing the final in 2023.
Madison Keys arrives in good shape
It's another woman who could be the talk of the WTA tournament and your next tennis predictions: American Madison Keys. After being stopped in the 3rd round of the US Open and the Beijing tournament at the end of last season, the annual end-of-year break seems to have been beneficial for the thirty-year-old player, as she seems quite simply unstoppable this season. She was a quarter-finalist in Auckland, where she suffered her only defeat of the year against Clara Tauson (ranked 21st in the world).
The American then went on a 12-match winning streak, including victories over the season's best women's players - Beatriz Haddad Maia, Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina, Liudmila Samsonova and Jessica Pegula - to claim the title at the Adelaide tournament. Having just won the title, the top 5 player went on to win the first Grand Slam title of her career when she defeated two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka. Also stopping Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, the American must confirm her incredible start to the year with another string of victories at the Indian Wells women's tournament.
Coco Gauff: ready for the title?
A second American player could be a formidable opponent for the title: Cori Gauff. The winner of the WTA Finals at the end of the year against Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng, the world no. 3 kicked off her 2025 season by winning the United Cup against Iga Swiatek's Poland. But in the end, these titles seemed to have taken their toll on her form, as the American was stopped in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open by Spain's Paula Badosa in a Grand Slam where she had already reached the semi-finals in 2024.
Stopped in the first round in Doha by Marta Kostyuk, the American also lost in the first round in Dubai to her compatriot McCartney Kessler. Cori Gauff has not yet managed to get back to winning ways, and she needs to respond at all costs in this Indian Wells tournament to show that she has lost none of her former great form, which she should be able to do with the support of her fans.
Mirra Andreeva in top form
The 17-year-old Russian, Mirra Andreeva, has also made a name for herself this early in the season, with a semi-final appearance at the Brisbane tournament followed by a round of 16 appearance at the Australian Open, both of which saw her lose to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. These defeats showed that only the best player in the world is capable of stopping her.
But she didn't stop there and went on to win 6 consecutive matches at the Dubai tournament at the end of February, stopping world No.2 Iga Swiatek in just 2 sets, then world No.7 Elena Rybakina, before taking the title in 2 sets against Clara Tauson. An exceptional run that should give the young player hope of a result in this tournament, which is just getting underway and in which she is seeded number 9.
Of all these women, the most serious contender for the title is likely to be American Madison Keys, current title-holder of the first Grand Slam of the year, who made a big impression by ending the Grand Slam winning streak of world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Our WTA Indian Wells winner prediction: Madison Keys wins the tournament, odds at 12.00 at 1xBet!
