Indian Wells: Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, & Karen Khachanov’s first matches after Dubai ordeal
Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Karen Khachanov will all be in Indian Wells action this year, though for a long time it was uncertain if they would make it to the tournament.
The trio were among the leading ATP Tour players and staff members initially stranded in Dubai after the Dubai Tennis Championships, with flights grounded after conflict in the Middle East.
Medvedev, Rublev, and Khachanov all eventually drove to Oman to take a private jet to Turkey, before then flying to California, reaching Indian Wells just as the event was about to start.
All three Russians have faced a tight turnaround to reach the event, and on Saturday, we will see just how ready they are to compete at the opening Masters 1000 event of 2026.
Who will Medvedev, Rublev, and Khachanov play – and when will they be in action?
The good news for all three players is that they are all ranked inside the top 32 of the ATP Rankings, meaning they are seeded in Indian Wells — and therefore receive an opening round bye.
All three will play their first Indian Wells matches on Saturday, with the scheduling designed to give both Rublev and Khachanov extra time to prepare on-site.
Both Rublev and Khachanov are on the bottom half of the draw and therefore should have played their round-two matches on Friday, though the tournament has perhaps wisely allowed them an extra day to recover from the arduous journey from Dubai.
Khachanov is the 16th seed in the men’s singles draw and arguably has the toughest match of the three Russians, with the 29-year-old set to take on rising star Joao Fonseca.
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The Russian won his only previous match against Fonseca at the 2025 Paris Masters, and this second meeting between the two will be the second match on Stadium 3 on Saturday, following Alexander Shevchenko’s match against 13th seed Casper Ruud.
The winner of Khachanov versus Fonseca will face 23rd seed Tommy Paul in round three.
Meanwhile, Rublev is also set to take to the court at a similar time, with the 17th seed scheduled as the second match on Court 6 on Saturday.
He will face world No 38 Gabriel Diallo in his first match of the tournament, and would then face ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round should he prevail.
Sitting on the top half of the draw, 11th seed and two-time Indian Wells runner-up Medvedev was always set to be in action on Saturday.
The former world No 1 faces a lengthy wait for his opening match of the event, with the Russian’s clash against Alejandro Tabilo the last match on Stadium 1 on Saturday.
Should Medvedev beat Tabilo, he would face either 22nd seed Jiri Lehecka or Sebastian Baez in round three.
Medvedev, Rublev, & Khachanov’s schedule
(11) Daniil Medvedev vs Alejandro Tabilo – 5th match on Stadium 1
(16) Karen Khachanov vs Joao Fonseca – 2nd match on Stadium 3
(17) Andrey Rublev vs Gabriel Diallo – 2nd match on Court 6
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