The Eisenhower Cup provided an intimate, lively start to the BNP Paribas Open week as many of the tour’s top players left the main courts and packed Stadium 2 on Tuesday night. The event served as a spirited kickoff to the season’s first combined 1000-level tournament, and Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz successfully defended their mixed-doubles crown.

Photographer Matt Fitzgerald returned to the desert after covering the scene last year to capture a mix of on-court moments and sideline atmosphere. Among the images: Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud arriving in matching eyewear, Jasmine Paolini sharing a laugh with Daria Andreeva, and Amanda Anisimova pairing with Tien in their debut together to reach the final.

Alexander Bublik entered as a replacement and teamed up with the defending BNP Paribas Open women’s champion, producing a pair of notable moments. Bublik and Andreeva edged out Jessica Pegula and Paul in a close opening match. One memorable rally included Bublik’s underarm serve, which drew unified reactions after yielding consecutive lets.

Other frames captured the heat of play: Fritz reacting after Ruud charged the net and missed with a long, powerful attempt, and the general buzz around the stands that kept the exhibition lively from start to finish. The sidelines offered as much entertainment as the court, with spontaneous exchanges and candid expressions filling the evening.

At the close of the night, photographers requested a quick trophy lift from Rybakina and Fritz to commemorate their successful title defense. The gallery assembled from Fitzgerald’s images highlights both the competitive edge of the matches and the relaxed camaraderie that defines the Eisenhower Cup.

© Matt Fitzgerald

Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina retained the Eisenhower Cup on the eve of the BNP Paribas Open, prevailing in the short-format Tie Break Tens and taking home $200,000. The defending champions teamed up in mixed doubles and navigated the first-to-10 tie-break format to repeat as winners.

A field of 16 players paired into mixed teams for the fast-paced event, which features only tie-breaks — no games, no sets — so every point carried high stakes. Fritz and Rybakina closed out the final with a 10-7 victory over Learner Tien and Amanda Anisimova.

“I’m super happy,” Rybakina said. “Hopefully I can do the same thing in singles.”

Fritz also praised the partnership. “You know, I can’t really volley all that well, so it works out great,” Fritz said of his partnership with Rybakina. “She serves great and it makes my life really easy!”

Fan favorites were on display across Stadium 2. Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek reunited as a team after pairing at last year’s US Open mixed doubles. They and others walked out wearing matching Meta glasses, AI-powered eyewear equipped with cameras, which gave fans a point-of-view look at key moments.

American stars appeared as well, with Tommy Paul teaming with Jessica Pegula. Pegula nearly dismissed the champions when she chased a forehand that bounced dangerously close to the players’ bench and argued that the obstruction warranted a hindrance call, but the call did not go her way.

Two late teams were formed when Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev withdrew after getting stuck in Dubai amid travel gridlock following the outbreak of war in Iran. Medvedev was replaced by Alexander Bublik, who partnered with Mirra Andreeva, while Rublev was replaced by Learner Tien, who teamed with Anisimova.

Other pairings included Ben Shelton and Emma Navarro, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez, and Matteo Berrettini and Jasmine Paolini.

Day 1 at the BNP Paribas Open serves up three first-round matches that deserve attention. Jenson Brooksby and Alexei Popyrin meet in Stadium 4 in what should be a lively opening encounter. Both played in the UAE last week and, as the preview noted, “presumably they were able to evade the flight ban and make it out over the weekend.” Brooksby is No. 41 and Popyrin No. 44. Popyrin brings the bigger, heavier-spinning serve and a lethal forehand; Brooksby offers superior point construction and a mix of chops and sidespin aimed at making the 6’5″ Australian stretch and bend. A California native, Brooksby has reached the round of 16 at Indian Wells twice and should be comfortable in the desert conditions. Winner: Brooksby

A throwback rivalry resurfaces when Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Denis Shapovalov. The pair met four times between 2018 and 2020, when Tsitsipas was already in the Top 5 and Shapovalov was trending toward the Top 10. Two of those early matches were decided by 7-6 sets: 7-6 in the third in Miami in 2019 and 7-6, 7-6 at the ATP Cup in 2020. Shapovalov won both of those close matches and still leads the head-to-head 4-2. He is 4-0 on hard courts against Tsitsipas and won their most recent meeting a year ago in Miami, 6-2, 6-4. Now each arrives with reduced momentum: Shapovalov is No. 39, Tsitsipas No. 43, and neither is seeded. Tsitsipas is 9-5 this season; Shapovalov is 4-4 and reached the semifinals in Dallas. Both employ a one-handed backhand and an attacking brand of tennis that remains entertaining. Winner: Shapovalov

Sloane Stephens returns to the main draw on a wild card. Stephens, 32 and ranked 780th, missed most of last year with a stress fracture in her right foot. Stephens says her career keeps getting “weirder and weirder.” She last won a title in 2024 but is only 13-13 in the desert with a single quarterfinal in 13 attempts. Her opponent, 24-year-old Colombian Osorio, is 10-5 this year, owns a 125-level title, stands 5’7″, and beat Naomi Osaka here last year 6-4, 6-4 in a night match. Osorio is ranked more than 700 spots higher than Stephens at the moment. Winner: Osorio