The 2023 BNP Paribas Open kicks off tennis’ high-stakes version of March Madness next week. The WTA 1000 tournament is the first leg of the Sunshine Double, with the Miami Open closing out the four-week coast-to-coast swing before the tours turn to clay.
Here’s what you need to know about the 12-day event:
When does the tournament start?
The BNP Paribas Open is the second WTA 1000 tournament of the season. It is played on outdoor hard courts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and features a 96-player singles field and a 32-team doubles field. The tournament uses Penn Tour Regular Duty balls.
Qualifying begins on Monday, March 6, with main-draw play beginning on Wednesday, March 8. Day sessions begin at 11:00 a.m. PT and night sessions begin at 6:00 p.m.
Each half of the draw will continue to alternate days into the second week until Tuesday, March 14, when all eight Round of 16 singles matches will be played. The quarterfinals will be played across Wednesday and Thursday, with the singles semifinals scheduled for Friday night.
When are the finals?
The doubles final will be played on Saturday, March 18 at 11:00 a.m.
The singles final will be played on Sunday, March 19 at 1:00 p.m.
Who are the top seeds?
The Top 32 seeds will receive a first-round bye. The rankings from the week of Feb. 27 will be used for seeding purposes.
Top 16 seeds:
No.1 Iga Swiatek
No.2 Aryna Sabalenka
No.3 Jessica Pegula
No.4 Ons Jabeur
No.5 Caroline Garcia
No.6 Coco Gauff
No.7 Maria Sakkari
No.8 Daria Kasatkina
No.9 Belinda Bencic
No.10 Elena Rybakina
No.11 Veronika Kudermetova
No.12 Liudmila Samsonova
No.13 Beatriz Haddad Maia
No.14 Victoria Azarenka
No.15 Petra Kvitova
No.16 Barbora Krejcikova
Who are the defending champions?
World No.1 Iga Swiatek captured her third WTA 1000 title last year at Indian Wells, defeating Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-1 in the final. The victory would be the first leg of Swiatek’s sweep of the Sunshine Double.
In doubles, Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan defeated Asia Muhammad and Ena Shibahara, 7-5, 7-6(4) to win their biggest team title.
What does the draw look like?
The draw ceremony will be conducted on Monday, March 6 at…