As the first round of the WTA action got off to a rocky start with rain delays Wednesday in Indian Wells, top seeds enjoyed a fully packed media day and some abbreviated practices.
World number one, the Polish Iga Swiatek was enjoying a slow start. The 2022 BNP Paribas Open champion took two days off and described herself as “fresh and ready to compete.” Before coming to Indian Wells, she had a mini vacation in Malibu to go shopping and check out the beach. The top seed spent another day relaxing by the pool before getting back onto the court.
The 22-year-old pointed out a key way that this California tournament is different from other 1000-level events on the calendar: “Here you have all these sponsors, shoes, all these obligations we have to fulfill.” Famous for its scenic backdrops and a plethora of country clubs with rentable tennis courts, sponsors choose the preceding week to film commercials and shoot photos that will be used for the rest of the season. This creates a significant distraction that sought-after players do not otherwise have outside of majors.
Coco Gauff had a very different kind of photoshoot at her home in Florida recently. The 19-year-old American will grace the cover of Vogue in April. In her humble nature, the third seed immediately linked the commercial benefits to the sport, not just herself. Gauff said, “I think it’s really important to bring more fans to the sport.” The young player added, “It’s one thing I was actually talking about the other day with Serena, just how much of a presence she had off-court that matched her presence on the court. I think that brought more fans into tennis and paved the pathway for people like me to be on the cover.”
Making the Vogue photoshoot stand out more, the spread includes a family portrait. Coco’s two younger brothers proudly stand next to her in their football and baseball uniforms. In the words of the eldest daughter and only tennis player in the bunch: “That’s just what we are, we’re a sports family so it’s really special.”
Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, was in a characteristically good mood speaking with press, still riding the high of her second Australian Open title. Reflecting on the major achievement, the Belarusian said, “I don’t like to focus on goals that I was able to achieve, I like to move on and start getting ready for the next one.” The next goal is capturing the BNP Paribas Open title that narrowly slid through her fingers in 2023, when Elena Rybakina defeated her 7-6 6-4 in the final.
Sabalenka was enjoying a late afternoon practice when the weather took an abrupt turn. Gusty winds kicked up dust and sand. Maria Sakkari, practicing with new coach David Witt, repeatedly gestured to her eyes as though to suggest problems with all the debris being kicked up. When rain started shortly after, Sakkari, Swiatek, and Sabalenka, all ended their practices prematurely to get inside the stadium again. The night session, starting with Venus Williams facing qualifier Nao Hibino, was delayed over two hours, and only started up again in fits and spurts. Three hours after the scheduled start, only two games had been played over two short intervals of play. At 9 p.m., the tournament announced play would resume Thursday.
The full first round will be played out Thursday. The second round, featuring the seeded players, kicks off Friday at 11 a.m. Los Angeles time.
