Indian Wells 2022: Women’s Singles Draw Preview and Prediction for BNP Paribas Open

The second WTA 1000 event of the year, the 2022 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells will commence from March 9 and will feature 9 out of the 10 best players in the world.

Tournament Details:

• Tournament: Indian Wells 2022
• Date: March 9- March 20, 2022
• Number of Entrants: 96 (Singles), 32 (Doubles)
• Venue: Indian Wells, California, USA
• Surface: Hard Court
• Prize Money: $8,369,455
• Defending champion: Paula Badosa

Top Seeds at the BNP Paribas Open 2022

• Barbora Krejcikova
• Aryna Sabalenka
• Iga Swiatek
• Anett Kontaveit
• Paula Badosa
• Maria Sakkari
• Karolina Pliskova
• Garbine Muguruza

Top Half

First Quarter

World No.2 Barbora Krejcikova will headline the women’s draw at a WTA 1000 for the very first time. Along with the other 31 seeds, Krejcikova receives a first-round bye. She is expected to face Rebecca Peterson in the second round and could face 26th seed Sorana Cirstea in the third round. For that, Cirstea will have to get past either Ajla Tomljanovic or Hailey Baptiste in the second round.

Former World No.1 Simona Halep is also in the first quarter of the draw and will face either Ekaterina Alexandrova or Elvina Kalieva in the second round. American teen sensation Coco Gauff is expected to meet fellow countrywoman Claire Liu in the second round. Halep and Gauff are expected to clash in the third round in a battle of generations.

US Open champion Emma Raducanu will face either in form Dayana Yastremska or Caroline Garcia in the second round and is expected to meet Tamara Zidansek in the third round. Zidansek will face the winner of the first-round clash between Anna Bondar and Petra Martic.

7th seed Karolina Pliskova will face either Jil Teichmann or Danka Kovinic in her comeback match and is drawn opposite 28th seed Liudmila Samsonova who is expected to face Madison Brengle in the third round. Pliskova and Samsonova are expected to meet in the Round of 16.

1st Quarterfinal Prediction: Barbora Krejcikova vs Emma Raducanu

Second Quarter

Qatar Open champion Iga Swiatek will headline the second quarter of the draw and will open against either Clara Burel or Anhelina Kalinina in the second round. Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin will face in-form Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first round. Kenin will then face 29th seed Clara Tauson in the second round and is expected to meet Swiatek in the third round.

23rd seed Daria Kasatkina will face the winner of the first-round match between Arantxa Rus and Katie Volynets in the second round. 15th seed Angelique Kerber will open her campaign against either Qinwen Zheng or Vera Zvonareva in the second round. Kasatkina and Kerber are expected to face off in the third round.

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine will play either Ana Konjuh or Alize Cornet in the second round and is drawn opposite Olympic champion Belinda Bencic. The Swiss will face Estonian Kaia Kanepi or Robin Montgomery in the second round. Bencic and Svitolina are drawn to face in the third round.

25th seed and Australian Open semifinalist Madison Keys will face the winner of the first-round match between Misaki Doi and Anastasia Potapova. Meanwhile, former World No.1 Garbine Muguruza will face either a qualifier or Alison Riske in the second round. Keys and Muguruza will be looking for a Round of 16 spot as they are expected to clash in the third round.

2nd Quarterfinal Prediction: Iga Swiatek vs Garbine Muguruza

Bottom Half

Third Quarter

The third quarter of the draw is also the most packed section of the draw. Defending champion Paula Badosa, former champion Naomi Osaka, former US Open champion Sloane Stephens, in form Jelena Ostapenko, Qatar Open finalist Anett Konatveit and Moneterry Open champion Leylah Fernandez are all stacked in the same quarter.

3rd seed Paula Badosa will face a qualifier or Tereza Martincova in the second round and is drawn opposite fellow countrywoman Sara Sorribes Tormo who will face a qualifier or Oceane Dodin in the second round. Meanwhile, Leylah Fernandez will open against either Amanda Anisimova or Emma Navarro in the second round. 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko, who is in amazing form, will play either Shelby Rogers or Nuria Parrizas Diaz in the second round. Fernandez or Ostapenko are expected to meet in the third round.

4th seed Anett Kontaveit will open her Indian Wells campaign against either Kristina Kucova or Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second round and is drawn opposite 30th seed Marketa Vondrousova who will face the winner of the first-round clash between a qualifier and Mayar Sherif. Kontaveit is expected to face Vondrousova in the third round.

After a first-round bye, 14th seed Jessica Pegula will face a qualifier in the second round and is drawn opposite 21st seed Veronika Kudermetova. In the same bracket, two former US Open champions, Naomi Osaka and Sloane Stephens will meet in a blockbuster first-round clash. Either Osaka or Stephens could meet Kontaveit in the Round of 16.

3rd Quarterfinal Prediction: Jelena Ostapenko vs Anett Konteveit

Fourth Quarter

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka will open her campaign against either Jasmine Paolini or a qualifier in the second round. Swiss 31st seed Viktorija Golubic is also in the bottom quarter and is expected to face Yulia Putintseva in the second round. Sabalenka, who has a relatively easy draw, will most likely face Golubic in the third round.

Multiple grand slam champion and defending finalist, Victoria Azarenka will take on Magda Linette or Magda Petkovic in the second round and is drawn opposite 17th seed Elena Rybakina who is expected to face Belgian Alison van Uytvanck in the second round.

Greek 6th seed Maria Sakkari, who is in amazing form, will face Katerina Siniakova or Irina-Camelia Begu in the second round. Sakkari is drawn opposite double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova who opens against the winner of the first-round match between Camila Osorio and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round.

20th seed Elise Mertens will face either Marta Kostyuk or Maryna Zanevska in the second round and could face 9th seed Ons Jabeur in the third round. Jabeur will have to battle past either a qualifier or Shuai Zhang in the second round to book a date with Mertens.

4th Quarterfinal Prediction: Maria Sakkari vs Aryna Sabalenka

Semifinals

Top seed Barbora Krejcikova and Qatar Open champion Iga Swiatek will meet in the first semifinal. Both players have seen an incredible rise in the last couple of years and are now amongst the best on the women’s tour. Both Krejcikova and Swiatek prefer playing on clay and have won the last two French Open titles, but they have proved their mettle on the hard courts too. Expect a thrilling match with long baseline exchanges with Swiatek making it to the final.

In the second semifinal, 4th seed Anett Konteviet will face 6th seed Maria Sakkari. The two women have a different style of play with Kontaveit leaning towards long rallies while Sakkri is one of the biggest hitters on the current women’s tour. The two met at the St. Petersburg Open final a few weeks ago where Konteveit edged past the Greek in a thriller. But expect Sakkari to avenge the loss and make it to the final.

Indian Wells 2022 Final: Iga Swiatek vs Maria Sakkari

Final

Qatar Open Iga Swiatek will lock horns against Maria Sakkari in the Final of the 2022 BNP Paribas Open. Given the slow nature of hard courts at Indian Wells, Swiatek will have a slight edge in the match and her recent win over Sakakri during her Qatar Open triumph will definitely make her the favorite. Expect a tight match with Swiatek winning back-to-back WTA 1000 titles.

Champion: Iga Swiatek

Also read: “I couldn’t miss a point”- Carlos Alcaraz reflects on Rafael Nadal’s epic Australian Open victory

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