The Indian Wells Open is the third WTA 1000 tournament on the calendar, and all of the top 32 players in the women’s rankings are set to star at this year’s event.
The 2026 Indian Wells Open will be the 37th edition of the WTA Tour event, which is staged at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden — also known as Tennis Paradise — in the Californian desert.
The hard-court tournament is considered one of the most prestigious competitions outside of the four Grand Slams.
Mirra Andreeva is the reigning champion, having defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the 2025 championship match.
When will the tournament take place?
The 2026 Indian Wells Open will be held from 4 to 15 March.
How many players will feature in the main draw?
The Indian Wells women’s singles main draw will be feature 96 players, a total made up of 76 direct entrants, 12 qualifiers and eight wildcards.
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Which players have received wildcards?
Venus Williams, a former world No 1 and seven-time major singles champion, is the only player who has received a wildcard so far.
Have any players withdrawn?
Lois Boisson and Veronika Kudermetova have both withdrawn from Indian Wells.
Which former champions will play?
Five former champions are on the entry list: Andreeva (2025), Iga Swiatek (2022 and 2024), Elena Rybakina (2023), Paula Badosa (2021) and Naomi Osaka (2019).
Have any players used a special/protected ranking to enter?
Players who have been unable to compete in any tournaments due to injury or pregnancy for a minimum of six months are eligible to use the WTA protected ranking system.
The rule allows players to use the ranking they held at the time of their absence to enter eight tournaments, or 12 if they missed more than a year.
Wang Yafan, who is ranked 356th and last played in October, has used a special ranking to enter.
Indian Wells 2026 WTA Singles Entry List and Projected Seeds (24 February)
1. Aryna Sabalenka
2. Iga Swiatek
3. Elena Rybakina
4. Coco Gauff
5. Jessica Pegula
6. Amanda Anisimova
7. Jasmine Paolini
8. Mirra Andreeva
9. Elina Svitolina
10. Victoria Mboko
11. Ekaterina Alexandrova
12. Belinda Bencic
13. Karolina Muchova
14. Linda Noskova
15. Madison Keys
16. Naomi Osaka
17. Clara Tauson
18. Iva Jovic
19. Liudmila Samsonova
20. Emma Navarro
21. Diana Shnaider
22. Elise Mertens
23. Anna Kalinskaya
24. Zheng Qinwen
25. Emma Raducanu
26. Jelena Ostapenko
27. Leylah Fernandez
28. Marta Kostyuk
29. Maya Joint
30. Wang Xinyu
31. Alex Eala
32. Maria Sakkari
Jaqueline Cristian
Marie Bouzkova
Sorana Cirstea
Janice Tjen
Sara Bejlek
Ann Li
McCartney Kessler
Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Hailey Baptiste
Katerina Siniakova
Sofia Kenin Rebecca Sramkova
Marketa Vondrousova
Tereza Valentova
Magda Linette
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
Dayana Yastremska
Barbora Krejcikova
Antonia Ruzic
Sonay Kartal
Laura Siegemund
Tatjana Maria
Varvara Gracheva
Magdalena Frech
Daria Kasatkina
Emiliana Arango
Polina Kudermetova
Elsa Jacquemot
Peyton Stearns
Cristina Bucsa
Solana Sierra
Anna Bondar
Beatriz Haddad Maia
Caty McNally
Eva Lys
Petra Marcinko
Elena-Gabriela Ruse
Francesca Jones
Ajla Tomljanovic
Oksana Selekhmeteva
Yulia Putintseva
Zeynep Sonmez
Anna Blinkova
Paula Badosa
Anastasia Potapova
Wang Yafan (SR)
Venus Williams (WC)
Further wildcards and qualifiers TBC
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The post WTA Indian Wells 2026 Entry List: Sabalenka, Swiatek, Rybakina, Gauff star; will Eala be seeded? appeared first on Tennis365.
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