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

Bianca Andreescu has spent the opening months of 2026 reshaping her game and her schedule in search of the player who burst onto the scene in 2019. Her doubles ranking of 160 currently sits five places above her singles ranking, a jarring statistic for a former US Open, Canadian Open and Indian Wells champion who has not captured a WTA title since that breakout season. She also lost eight of her last 11 matches in 2025.

“I’m trying to, I guess, reclaim that dangerous, fearless Bianca that can really stand a chance against anyone, and I think I’m getting there,” Andreescu said. “I just feel that, before, I was focusing too much on, you know, trying to go back to 2019, so living in the past.

“And now…it’s like recreating the new Bianca, what is it? 7.0.”

Ranked 227 at the start of the year, Andreescu entered a W35 in Bradenton, Fla., as the No. 1 seed, won five matches to collect $4,860 and 35 WTA points, then reached a semifinal at a second W35 before winning a W75 in Vero Beach to close a 13-1 January. “Going back to those levels, was a decision obviously that wasn’t easy, right? In a way, I guess I’m going the Agassi route,” she said to Brad Gilbert. “I think what’s amazing is I finally got some match rhythm, which I haven’t had over the last few years. I got as many matches as I did in those three weeks, like all of last year.”

After a main-draw match in Austin, Andreescu accepted a wild card into the BNP Paribas Open. If she advances, she could meet Coco Gauff. “It’ll be interesting to see how my level right now, with what I’m implementing and what I’m working on, can show face against someone like that,” she said. “I’m very excited.”

On the men’s side, Sebastian Korda has also altered course. The 25-year-old carries three career titles and a 2023 Australian Open quarterfinal on his résumé, but struggles with injury and inconsistency followed. “I would say since coming back on tour after my leg injury, it was definitely…the darkest time in my tennis career,” he said. “I was just getting a lot of anxiety when I was coming back from court, so disconnected from playing matches.”

Korda dropped down to play a Challenger, reached the San Diego final, beat Michael Zheng and Frances Tiafoe in Dallas and then won Delray Beach, defeating Alex Michelsen, Casper Ruud, Flavio Cobolli and Tommy Paul. Unseeded at Indian Wells, he opens against Francisco Comesana and has new coach Ryan Harrison at his side. “I’m feeling the best physically that I’ve felt the last couple of years,” he said. “Hopefully it stays that way.”

The 2026 BNP Paribas Open women’s draw sets world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka into a demanding top quarter that also includes Naomi Osaka, Victoria Mboko and Amanda Anisimova.

Sabalenka returns to competition for the first time since the Australian Open and is projected to meet No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals, a potential rematch of the 2025 US Open final. Before that, Anisimova is slated to face No. 10 seed Victoria Mboko in the fourth round while Sabalenka opened the draw against former champion Naomi Osaka.

Also in the top section is No. 18 seed Iva Jovic, the projected third-round opponent for Osaka. Jovic arrives at Indian Wells off her breakthrough Australian Open run, where she made her maiden major quarterfinal.

Sabalenka shares the top half of the draw with No. 3 seed Coco Gauff. She has not played since finishing runner-up to Elena Rybakina at the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. Sabalenka withdrew from both Middle East WTA 1000 events at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, but the Indian Wells Tennis Garden has been a productive venue for her in past years, with two finals appearances, including last year.

The bottom half features Mirra Andreeva, who reached the 2025 BNP Paribas Open final. Seeded eighth this year, Andreeva is projected to occupy a quarter that includes No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, a player Andreeva beat en route to her first Indian Wells title. Andreeva is also projected to meet No. 9 seed Elina Svitolina in the fourth round, a rematch of their Australian Open meeting won by Svitolina in straight sets.

Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina is the No. 3 seed and is projected to face No. 15 seed Madison Keys in a fourth-round match; Keys reached the BNP Paribas Open semifinals last year. Rybakina reached the quarterfinals in Doha after Melbourne, lost to Mboko in three sets and retired in her second-round match in Dubai.

Notable wild cards include Venus Williams and 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu, each scheduled to face qualifiers in their opening rounds.