Few would dispute that titular statement about cool except for those who woke up this morning in the California Desert greeted by a temperature of 12 degrees Celsius. Or anyone who looked ahead for the next 10 days at a weather forecast revealing no high temperature even reaching 27 degrees (the old 80 degrees Fahrenheit). The shivering high for this coming Thursday is supposed to be a brisk 19 degrees.
A stiff wind from the west, as it was on a chilly Sunday evening when Toronto’s Marina Stakusic was beaten in the qualifying by Sonay Kartal of Britain, is a blip upon the vaunted creature comforts of ‘Tennis Paradise.’ Kartal (in the far court in the picture below), at a solid 5-foot-5 to Stakusic’s rangy 5-foot-9, seemed favoured by being lower to the ground and better suited to striking the ball sooner before it could begin bouncing more erratically in the wind.
Regardless of weather inconveniences, it’s certainly a stretch to suggest the BNP Paribas Open is anything but colloquially ‘cool,’ with spectators flocking to the men’s and women’s 1000 events in increasing numbers. They appreciate the bracing desert air and sunshine, the surrounding mountains and spacious environs of the rambling Coachella Valley
The reality of the 2025 tournament – year after year voted the favourite event by the women and men’s players – took shape Monday when the singles main draws were made in the shadow of 16,100-seat Stadium 1.
The lone Canadian in the BNP Paribas Open women’s draw is No. 27 seed Leylah Annie Fernandez. The 22-year-old has been the most consistent Canadian player – female or male – over the past year and comes into the Indian Wells event with a 9-6 record in 2025.
After a first-round bye, she will play the winner of No. 51-ranked Veronika Kudermetova and No. 79 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania. The second round will be a first-time meeting for Fernandez with either of her potential opponents.
Headlining the women’s entry are the two top seeds – world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek. But more intriguing will likely be the return to action of 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys for the first time in more than five weeks since her widely-acclaimed triumph. One which included inspired victories over Swiatek [5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8)] in the semifinals and Sabalenka (6-3, 2-6, 7-5) in the final at Melbourne Park.
The fifth-seeded 30-year-old from Florida will have a first-round bye before facing either No. 34 Anastasia Potapova or No. 57 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain.
Also intriguing will be the comeback of two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. Now officially ranked No. 1448 after not playing – except for a first-round 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to No. 189 Jodie Burrage of Britain last week at the WTA 250 event in Austin, Texas – since Beijing in October 2023, and the birth of her son Petr on July 7 last summer. Kvitova received a wild card for tournament entry.
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She said Monday that her husband and coach, former Czech player Jiri Vanek, handles most of the nighttime responsibilities with their son, although she is still breast-feeding. Her opening-round opponent will be No. 70-ranked Vavara Gracheva of France with a possible second-round encounter with current wunderkind, 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the ninth seed.
Another Grand Slam champion – four-timer Naomi Osaka – will be playing, like Keys, for the first time in over five weeks after retiring with an abdominal strain following the first set of her third-round match at the Australian Open against yet another returning mother, Belinda Bencic. The No. 56-ranked Osaka, mom to 18-month-old daughter Shai born in July 2023, will face No. 53-ranked Camila Osorio, 23, of Colombia in the first round.
With 32 seeds, the opportunities for compelling first-round match-ups is diminished. But in this year’s BNP Paribas Open women’s draw, the highlight may be a confrontation of two former American Grand Slam champions – current No. 47 Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open winner, and wild card, No. 119 Sloane Stephens, who triumphed at the 2017 US Open.
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The obvious absence in this year’s men’s draw is 2025 Australian Open champion and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner – serving a three-month suspension for a doping offence.
That means the name at the top of the draw is No. 2-ranked Alexander Zverev with No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz as the No. 2 seed.
Canada’s longstanding duo of No. 18-ranked Félix Auger-Aliassime and No. 28 Denis Shapovalov feature in the men’s event.
Seeded No. 17, Auger-Aliassime has a bye and then will face either No. 62 Benjamin Bonzi of France or No. 937 Jenson Brooksby of the U.S (returning with a protected ranking from wrist surgery and a suspension for missing drug tests). It would be a first meeting for FAA with Bonzi, but he lost his lone previous encounter with Brooksby back in 2021.
The more fascinating encounter for Auger-Aliassime could be a third-rounder against No. 14 seed Jack Draper. The fast-rising Brit and FAA have a history. Draper outplayed him 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 at the 2022 US Open and then beat him again in Cincinnati in 2024, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. But the 24-year-old from Montreal won their last meeting – 7-6(6), 7-5 in Davis Cup action last September.
For Shapovalov, the draw is one of extremes. As the No. 27 seed he gets a bye and then will play whoever emerges from a first-rounder involving two qualifiers.
But if he survives that hurdle, he will likely play Alcaraz in the third round. It would be the second meeting between the two, with the Spaniard winning their 2023 Roland-Garros third-round clash in straight sets, and a certifiable popcorn match – especially with the 25-year-old Canadian arriving with an 8-1 record at his last two tournaments, including a title at the ATP 500 in Dallas.
The goofiest possible second-round could be between No. 6 seed Novak Djokovic, who has won five BNP Paribas Open titles but none since 2016, and the winner of a first round between 29-year-old Nick Kyrgios and a qualifier.
No surprise, it’s a puzzler why the quixotic Kyrgios is entered, using a protected ranking. His record is 0-2 in 2025 (losses in Brisbane and at the Australian Open in January), he did not play a single tour match in 2024 and was 0-1 in 2023. His last match victory was against Kamil Majchrzak of Poland in Tokyo in October 2022.
First-round main-draw matches will be played over Wednesday and Thursday.
DIALLO AND GALARNEAU ADVANCE
Gabriel Diallo (hitting a leaping forehand in the featured top picture) is into the second and final round of qualifying after a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Hady Habib. Diallo, the No. 4 seed in the qualifying with a No. 88 ranking, just had too much game for the No.170-ranked Lebanese. He was wailing on his forehand, whacking his serve big, and weaving points his way whenever he needed them.
His only hiccup came when he served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and lost a game that included two double faults. He settled and soon managed to close out the match in the tiebreak.
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In Tuesday’s second and final round, he plays 20-year-old Ethan Quinn. Ranked No. 137, the 20-year-old is something of a local – he’s from Fresno, California.
Alexis Galarneau reached the final round of qualifying with a gritty 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over No. 113-ranked Arthur Cazaux of France. The No. 163 Galarneau looked to be uncomfortable with his right knee at times, especially after extreme movements. But he battled hard until the end and was rewarded with a two-hour-and-36-minute victory.
Next for him will be the unlikely 2022 National Bank Open champion – Pablo Carreno Busta. The 33-year-old Spaniard, ranked No. 112, has fought through injuries since that career moment in Montreal and is still hoping to rekindle his former form.
SMILING MATTEO
One of the spectacular assets of the BNP Paribas Open is the large lawn space in the players area where they can jog and exercise, kick soccer balls around and generally just chill. Above, Matteo Berrettini gets close with some of the fans who hang out much of the day next to the lawn hoping for a selfie or an autograph with one of their favourites.
AN ODD PIZZA
BNP Paribas Open habitués have been disappointed by a shocking development at the on-site pizza concession – rectangular pizzas. If that wasn’t enough, it’s obvious from the cross section in the picture here that this is far from what a conventional cheese pizza looks like.
It’s appropriately labelled “ODD PIZZA” – a little too odd for those with traditional tastes. And just exactly where is that cheese?
