Indian Wells draw: Iga Swiatek faces bruising path, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka in same section

World No 1 Iga Swiatek has several potential banana skins in the first few rounds of the 2024 Indian Wells Open while Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka could meet in the fourth round.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek has a bye in the first round, but she could face Danielle Collins in the second round if the American gets past a qualifier. Collins troubled the Pole when they met at the Australian Open with Swiatek winning in three sets.

And it doesn’t get easier after that as the winner will face one of Linda Noskova/Katie Boulter/Camila Giorgi in the third round. The 19-year-old Noskova stunned Swiatek in the third round at Melbourne Park while Boulter is on a high after winning the biggest title of her career, the WTA 500 San Diego Open, on Sunday.

The path could potentially clear up after that with 15th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova or 18th seed Madison Keys a potential fourth-round opponent.

Section 2

The winner from the top section is projected to meet Ons Jabeur in the quarter-final, but the sixth seed has struggled with injury and form in recent weeks.

The Tunisian could meet rising star Mirra Andreeva in the second round, either former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki or 25th seed Donna Vekic in the third round while 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko could await in the fourth round.

READ MORE: WATCH: Iga Swiatek scores long-range belter on football pitch

Section 3 and 4

Defending champion Elena Rybakina will open up against either Paula Badosa or Ashlyn Krueger while she could meet Dubai Tennis Championship winner Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round and reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-final.

Seventh seed Vondrousova is projected to meet Beatriz Haddad Maiai in the fourth round.

Section 8 and 7

Australian Open winner and last year’s Indian Wells runner-up Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed in the bottom half and she will face either Elizabetta Cocciaretto or Peyteon Stearns in the second round.

Sabalenka is projected to meet Dayana Yastremska, although Emma Raducanu could also be a potential opponent. Wildcard Raducanu faces a qualifier first up with Yastremska awaiting the winner.

A Sabalenka-Jessica Pegula quarter-final clash is expected, but fifth seed Pegula has a tough draw as she could face former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova in the second round, 29th seed Leylah Fernandez in the third round and ninth seed Maria Sakkari in the fourth round.

Section 6

The winner of the Sabalenka-Pegula sections will most likely meet Coco Gauff in the semi-final, but the American also has some tricky matchups. The reigning US Open champion faces either Wang Xiy or Clara Burel in the second round with Analina Kalinina a potential third-round opponent.

Gauff is projected to meet 15th seed Linda Samsonova in the fourth round, but the Russian will likely have to get past former world No 1 Naomi Osaka in the second round. Osaka opens up against a qualifier, but given the four-time Grand Slam winner’s form at the Qatar Open, she could end up meeting Gauff in the quarters.

Section 7

Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen faces Vera Gracheva or Yuan Yue in the second round and she could potentially meet 27th seed Victoria Azarenka in the third round and 11th seed Daria Kasatkina in the fourth round.

If the seeds hold, then the quarter-finals will be Swiatek v Jabeur, Rybakina v Vondrousova, Zheng v Gauff and Pegula v Sabalenka.