Emma Raducanu gets nightmare Indian Wells draw Coco Gauff and Madison Keys are on collision course
The draw for the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells has been made, with a clash between two recently crowned US Open champions potentially on the agenda for round two.
American favourite Coco Gauff could be set for a clash with Britain’s Emma Raducanu, with the 2021 and 2023 US Open champions in a high quality top half of the draw.
Raducanu will need to come through her opening match against world No 52 Moyuka Uchijima to set up the clash with Gauff, as she looks to match last year’s run to the third round in Indian Wells.
World No 3 Gauff would be favourite to come through against Raducanu, as she was a comfortable winner in their only previous clash at the 2023 Australian Open.
However, she has not been in great form in recent weeks and has been struggling with the service motion that has been a constant concern for her over the last few months.
Ahead of her return to Indian Wells, Gauff enjoyed a night at the Oscars, as she enjoyed being part of the biggest show in Hollywood.
“I’m really happy to be here. I want to be more than just a tennis player, and step into other roles,” said Gauff at The Oscars.
“This part of it, everything is new and outside of my wildest dreams, but I’m taking it, I’m thanking God for it, and I’m just happy to be here.”
If Gauff gets through that match, she will be eyeing up a run to the latter stages of the tournament and she is in line to take on recently crowned Australian Open champion Madison Keys in what would be a blockbuster all-American quarter-final.
Gauff and Keys are in the same half of the draw as world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and she could face one of the USA stars in the semi-final.
The other half of the draw is led by world No 2 and defending Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek, who will face the winner of Caroline Garcia or Bernarda Pera in her opening match.
Swiatek’s draw looks to be challenging, as she could face former Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur in the third round, while the dangerous Karolina Muchova is a potential fourth round opponent before a possible last eight clash against Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.
Swiatek is seeded to take on Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals, before a potential clash against her big rival Sabalenka in the final.
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Of course, those possible match-ups are merely based on the seeding of the players in the draw and there are certain to be some upsets in the opening rounds of the tournament.
This is how the ranking points and prize money will be handed out at Indian Wells in the WTA 1000 tournament:
Indian Wells ranking points and prize money
First round: 10 points – $23,760
Second round: 35 points – $35,260
Third round: 65 points – $60,400
Round of 16: 120 points – $103,225
Quarterfinals: 215 points – $189,075
Semifinals: 390 points – $332,160
Finalist: 650 points – $597,890
Champion: 1000 points – $1,124,380
This is how the Indian Wells draw looks, if the seeded players make the progress they hope for:
(1) Sabalenka – (6) Paolini
(3) Gauff – (5) Keys
(7) Rybakina – (4) Pegula
(8) Zheng- (2) Swiatek
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