Indian Wells Women’s Seeds 2023 – Monitor the Remaining entries’ Progress

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Ready to track the Indian Wells women’s seeds on a daily basis throughout the 2023 event? Take a look at the most recent updates right here.

Indian Wells Seeds – The Final is Set

Both of the 2023 Indian Wells semi-finals were played last night. And I for one am rather surprised about the results from one of these matches, as you are about to find out. Of course, at this point in the tournament, every player is one of the main Indian Wells seeds.

Yet following the semi-finals, only two of the seeds are left in the draw. So let me share the update on these WTA Indian Wells seeds right now to give you the scoop on what to expect from the final.

First Semi-final – Sabalenka Beats Sakkari

As Sabalenka went up against Sakkari in the first semi-final last night, it’s fair to say that most people expected Sabalenka to win. That’s exactly what she did too, by beating the Greek player by a final score of 6-2 6-3. Sabalenka put together a string of big winners to down her lower-ranked opponent, who was obviously feeling the strain physically after four three-set matches in a row. 

With this said, Sabalenka survived a bit of a wobble in the second set when Sakkari started to find an extra gear and she started to throw in a bunch of unforced errors. Nevertheless, she remained composed and got the job done in straight sets to make it into the final.

Second Semi-final – Rybakina Beats Swiatek

In the second semi-final of Indian Wells 2023, we saw Rybakina take on the world number one and defending champion, Iga Swiatek. To be perfectly honest, I expected Swiatek to beat Rybakina in this match due to the way she’s been playing. However, it wasn’t to be, and Rybakina simply outplayed the WTA number 1 to take her down by a final score of 6-2 6-2. 

This means that the Indian Wells seeds that have made it into the final are the 10th (Rybakina) and 2nd (Sabalenka) seeds.

Updates on WTA Indian Wells Seeds Following Second Set of Quarter-Final Matches

The semi-finals have been set for the bottom half of the women’s singles draw since Wednesday night – or Thursday morning, depending on your time zone! However, the second set of semi-finals, meaning the top half of the draw, has also been established following the results last night. In case you missed these games, we witnessed Swiatek vs Cirstea as well as Rybakina vs Muchova. 

But what were the results and who is in the semi-finals of Indian Wells for the top half of the draw? Let me detail the results concerning the top Indian Wells seeds from last night’s games.

Seed 1 Iga Swiatek – Through to Semis

Once again, the defending champion looked in fine form last night. She took down Cirstea in a convincing straight-set performance, with the final result being 6-2 6-3. The match took just 1 hour and 21 minutes in total, which is very short given the slower conditions in Indian Wells. And she now moves within two wins of defending her title.

Of course, Swiatek will also retain the number-one ranking following the completion of this tournament too. She has 10,585 points at the moment compared to 6100 for Sabalenka – the world number 2. So even if Swiatek didn’t defend the title, she will stay at the top.

Seed 10 Elena Rybakina – Joins Top Seed in Semis

Elena Rybakina continued her aggressive style of play to beat Muchova in the other quarter-final last night. This match was much closer than Swiatek vs Cirstea, which was somewhat expected. In fact, Rybakina needed three sets to beat Karolina Muchova, who was only in the main draw due to a protected ranking. 

Due to this win, Rybakina will play Swiatek in the semi-finals tonight/early tomorrow morning, and I expect it will be a great game to watch.

Indian Wells Seeds – Updates Following the First Quarter-Final Matches

Now that we are very much in the final stages of the 2023 Indian Wells event, there aren’t as many matches taking place each day. In fact, just two matches were played in the women’s singles event yesterday. These two matches involved Sakkari vs Kvitova and Gauff vs Sabalenka. All four of these players held a seeded position this year, yet just two of them have made it through to the semi-finals. And if you didn’t see the games, let me provide the Indian Wells seeds updates right now:

7th Seed Sakkari Advances

Maria Sakkari was the runner-up in the Indian Wells event last year. This shows that she enjoys playing in the Californian desert, and after yesterday, she’s still on track to replicate her success in 2022. Amazingly, this was Sakkari’s 4th three-set match in a row, and she has pulled through once again. As she went up against Petra Kvitova, the 15th seed, she failed to find her best tennis in the opening set. 

Yet in true Sakkari fashion, she rallied to steal the second set before marching through the third by a score of 6-1.

2nd Seed Sabalenka Through

Aryna Sabalenka survived a bit of a scare in the 4th round, but she clearly recovered well both physically and mentally. I say this because Sabalenka went out there last night and destroyed Coco Gauff, the 6th seed. Sabalenka wasted no time at all in dispatching her younger opponent by a score of 6-4 6-0. And following this win, she is now set to take on Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals on Friday.

One would assume that the odds are in her favour too, as Sakkari has spent far more time on the court than Sabalenka. This means fatigue could well serve as a major factor, but we will have to see what happens.

Fourth Round Matches – WTA Indian Wells Seeds Updates

Now that the full set of 4th round games have been played at Indian Wells, it really is getting to the business end of the tournament. And much like previous days, there have been a few casualties as far as the top Indian Wells seeds go. On that note, if you haven’t seen the results yet or you missed the action entirely, let me give you the key takeaways from the fourth round right now.

Pegula: 3rd Seed – Out

Jessica Pegula had endured a few tough battles to reach the fourth round at the 2023 Indian Wells event. However, it would seem that this was one battle too far, as Pegula lost to Kvitova in what was arguably the match of the tournament so far. Despite having 4 match points, Pegula lost to Kvitova in a third set tiebreak – 13-11 in the breaker!

Garcia: 5th Seed – Out

There was more drama in the top half of the draw last night, as reflected by the exit of Garcia in the fourth round. She lost to the unseeded Romanian, Cirstea, in what was her third three-set match in a row at the tournament. This means that instead of the Swiatek vs Garcia clash that we were all anticipating, it will be Swiatek vs Cirstea. 

Safely Through – Top Seeds

On a day when many of the top WTA Indian Wells seeds vanished from the draw, there were also many seeds who made it through. Top seed and tournament favourite, Iga Swiatek, beat Raducanu for a spot in the quarters. Adding to that, the second seed, Sabalenka won a tight three-setter against Krejcikova to make it through. And there was further success for Sakkari (seed 7), Gauff (seed 6), and Rybakina (seed 10).

Indian Wells Seeds Updates Round of 32 – Top Half

After the action last night, the last 16 of the WTA Indian Wells event has been set. Any unseeded players that have reached this stage have won three matches already. In contrast, the Indian Wells seeds have had to win two matches to get to the last 16. This is due to the ‘bye’ that all seeds received in the first round. 

With that said, not all seeds have made it to the round of 16 – some have fallen at the round of 32 stage last night. And in case you missed it, here’s what you need to be aware of:

Haddad Maia: 13th Seed – Out

This was probably the pick of the round of 32 games last night. Emma Raducanu, the previous US Open champion went up against the 13th seed, Haddad Maia. And it was Raducanu who came away with the win, taking down the number 13 in the world in three brutal sets. Her reward for this win is that she will now play the top seed, Iga Swiatek, in the last 16.

Jabeur: 4th Seed – Out

Ons Jabeur is the highest of the WTA Indian Wells seeds to have lost in the tournament so far. As the 4th seed and subsequent 4th best player in the world, the exit of Jabeur last night at the hands of Vondrousova was a big surprise. Bear in mind Vondrousova is only in the main draw due to her protected ranking, yet she’s made it count by taking out the 4th seed in straight sets. 

Kasatkina: 8th Seed – Out

Jabeur was not alone when it came to single-digit seeds leaving the tournament last night. Amazingly, the 8th seed, Kasatkina, lost to the qualifier, Gracheva in straight sets. Gracheva joins just one other qualifier who has made it to the round of 16 in the main draw. And to give that some perspective, Gracheva has had to win 5 matches to reach this point!

WTA Indian Wells Seeds Updates Round of 32 – Bottom Half

Given that the tournament is at the round of 32 stage, the rounds are still split into separate days concerning the top and bottom halves. And as you can see, it was the bottom half of games involving Indian Wells seeds that were played yesterday. There was some great tennis, as expected, and since the round of 32 is where the seeds could clash for the first time, there were some shock results. 

Below, I shall run through the biggest stories involving the seeds from yesterday’s action.

Kudermetova: 11th Seed – Out

The number 11 ranked WTA player in the world lost out to the experienced, Pliskova yesterday. Then again, Pliskova herself is seeded 17th in this event, so they weren’t all that far apart in rankings or seedings. It was Pliskova who rose to the occasion, however, beating Kudermetova in straight sets to reach the round of 16.

Pegula: 3rd Seed – Survives Scare

Jessica Pegula is a bit of a dark horse to go and win the tournament this year. She’s the number 3 seed, and hence she is also ranked number 3 in the world. Pegula is having a great season too, yet she had to fight back against the number 26 seed, Potapova to reach the last 16. To be honest, Potapova had this match in the bag, but Pegula battled as she always does and turned things around. She ultimately won the match 7-5 in the final set.

Sakkari: 7th Seed – Through in Three

There were also some struggles for the 7th seed and last year’s runner-up, Maria Sakkari. She fought back from losing the first set for the second time running to win in three sets. Her opponent was Kalinina, the 27th seed at Indian Wells, and Sakkari won the match 6-4 in the third.

Round Two Updates on Indian Wells Seeds – Top Half

After the action last night, all of the round two games have now been played in the WTA Indian Wells event. This means that all of the original 32 seeds have now played one round. However, there have been mixed results for the Indian Wells seeds after their opening games in 2023. Let me give you the latest on the women’s seeds right now.

Keys: 19th Seed – Out

Everyone knows that Madison Keys is a very dangerous player. She’s a big hitter and she’s been playing good tennis in 2023. But unfortunately, after losing the first set to Cirstea in her opening match, she was forced to retire through injury. As it happens, Cirstea will now play Pera, who took out the 12th seed (details shown below).

Samsanova: 12th Seed – Out

As the number 12 player in the world, Liudmila Samsanova will have been confident going into the 2023 Indian Wells event. And like all other 32 seeds, Samsanova received a bye into the round of 64. However, she ultimately lost to Bernarda Pera of the USA, 7-6 in the final set. Worst of all – she had three match points in the second set!

Linette: 20th Seed – Out

Moving further down the seeds list now, there has been disappointment for Magda Linette, the 20th seed. Linette was taken out in straight sets last night by Emma Raducanu, who isn’t one of the Indian Wells seeds this year due to her ranking. Because of this result, Raducanu will now face the 13th seed, Haddad Maia in the next round. 

Azarenka: 14th Seed – Out

The final shock of the round of 64 relating to the Indian Wells seeds saw Azarenka lose to Muchova in straight sets. Azarenka made the semis of the Australian Open and she’s one of the most experienced players on tour. However, she failed to win her first match at Indian Wells, which means that Muchova will move on to play Trevisan.

WTA Indian Wells Seeds – Round Two Updates – Bottom Half

If you’ve been following the action in Indian Wells over the last 24 hours, you’ll know that it’s been a rough ride for a few seeds in their opening round. And as you’ve no doubt hoped for – I’m about to cover the top stories surrounding the Indian Wells seeds following the first half of round two matches. But right before I do, as a reminder, the next set of round two matches will be played this evening and throughout the night (UK time).

Bencic: 9th Seed – Out

This was one of the most surprising results in the round of 64 so far. As stated, Belinda Bencic has fallen at the first hurdle in Indian Wells. She lost to Teichmann in a scrappy three-set match, ultimately losing by a score of 6-3 in the third. This is all the more surprising since Bencic has been one of the in-form players of the 2023 season. And with her departure as one of the top Indian Wells seeds, this section of the draw is now wide open.

Alexandrova: 18th Seed – Out

Ekaterina Alexandrova is ranked 18 in the world, as of the most recent WTA rankings updates. However, she’s also been the victim of a second-round exit in the 2023 Indian Wells event. After receiving a bye into the second round, as all of the seeds did this year, Alexandrova then lost to Wang in a rather straightforward match. Wang upset the 18th seed by a score of 6-2, 6-3, and she now moves on to play the 16th seed, Krejcikova, in the round of 32.

Introduction to 2023 Indian Wells Seeds

Did you know that the Indian Wells draw has already been done for the men’s and women’s events? That’s right – and all of the tennis is set to begin on Wednesday, March 8th.

With that said, thanks to the draw now being ready for all of us to view, we know where the top seeds have been placed. We also know who could potentially face who in the early stages of the tournament, which creates even more excitement in the build-up to this 1000-level event.

However, this is all well and good, but how are things actually shaping up concerning the top players for Indian Wells? Well, the only way to know is to run through the top BNP Paribas Open seeds right now. So without further ado, let me start to give you a rundown of the seeds for the women’s event.

Indian Wells Seeds 2023 – Women’s Singles Overview

For the 2023 Indian Wells tournament, there are 32 seeded players for the women’s singles. And like most WTA-level events, the seeds have been produced based on their ranking at the time of entry into the draw. That’s why you’ll notice that the seeds are almost identical to the current WTA rankings unless there are any changes due to withdrawals. Adding to this, all of the 32 seeds for the women’s singles have been given what’s known as a ‘bye’ into the second round. This is also the case concerning the Indian Wells men’s seeds for 2023.

Essentially, a bye grants a free pass into the next round, which is sometimes a good thing, but it can also be detrimental for others. It just depends on whether the player prefers to get a round under their belts before going up against a higher-ranked opponent. Anyway, I don’t want to get too much into personal preferences on draws and byes to skip beyond the opening round. Instead, I’d prefer to stick with the cold hard facts and look at the top seeds, their respective chances of glory, and who stands in their way.

So, ready to read about all of these juicy details? Jump into the next section to learn more.

WTA Indian Wells Seeds – Top Seeds in Detail

With the tournament about to get underway, I don’t want to take up any more of your time discussing what the seeds mean and how they’ve come to pass. Instead, I’d like to now talk about the highest-rated seeds for the Indian Wells women’s singles tournament. 

Iga Swiatek – Top Seed

It goes without saying that Iga Swiatek is still the overwhelming favorite to win the Indian Wells title in 2023. She’s the dominant force in women’s tennis at the moment, and she displayed that by winning two Grand Slam titles in 2022. Not only that, but she is the world’s number one by quite some distance at the moment. And if you needed any more reason to believe that Swiatek is the top candidate for the trophy, she is the defending champion. 

Aryna Sabalenka – Seed 2

Aryna Sabalenka is currently the number 2 ranked player in the world. Of course, this has led to her receiving the position of number 2 seed for the Indian Wells event. This puts her at the opposite end of the draw to Iga Swiatek, so they could only play each other if both were to make the final. As for whether Sabalenka could take the title in the desert since she won the 2023 Australian Open, I wouldn’t want to bet against her. However, it will obviously take another special effort to go all the way and potentially take out Iga Swiatek in the process.

Jessica Pegula – Seed 3

If we are to talk about ‘in form’ players going into Indian Wells, Jessica Pegula has to be right up there with the very best. She’s been a bit of a superstar throughout the 2023 season to date, and her run of good form could easily continue in Indian Wells. For clarification on this, Pegula made the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, the finals in Qatar, and the semi-finals in the recent Dubai 1000 Masters event. As the number 3 seed, she’s been placed in the bottom half of the draw – putting her on a collision course with last year’s finalist, Maria Sakkari, in the quarters.

Ons Jabeur – Seed 4

Jabeur has been one of the most consistent players on tour over the last 12-18 months. This is reflected in her current ranking of number 4 in the world. And in case you missed her 2022 season, Jabeur made the finals in two of the four Grand Slam events – pretty spectacular, to say the least. With that said, she did lose her opening match in the 2022 Indian Wells event, although this was prior to Jabeur really finding her stride last year. However, Jabeur is in the top half, which means she has Swiatek to contend with.

Caroline Garcia – Seed 5

The last of the top Indian Wells seeds for 2023 is Caroline Garcia, the number 5 seed in the tournament. Garcia is a phenomenal player on her day, hence her success at the WTA Finals at the end of the 2022 season. Not many players in the draw this year can say that they’ve won the end-of-year finals, but Garcia clearly can. However, Garcia hasn’t been killing it in the 2023 season so far. She made the 4th round at the 2023 Australian Open, which meant that she fell short of her seeding in that event.

But since then, Garcia has made two finals, yet she is still seeking that first trophy in 2023. And regarding her place in the draw, she is in the top half, meaning she could play Swiatek in the quarter-finals.

FAQs – Indian Wells Women’s Seeds

Will the WTA Indian Wells seeds change?

No – these seeds are fixed for the 2023 tournament.

Which of the Indian Wells women’s seeds has the highest chance of winning?

In my opinion, I believe that Iga Swiatek has the best chance of winning the tournament and the bookies confirm that with their Indian Wells odds.

When will the mentioned Indian Wells seeds start playing?

Since the top seeds all get a bye into the second round, they won’t start playing until Thursday (March 9th) or Friday (March 10th) this week.

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