Indian Wells field announced, Kyrgios in with protected ranking

The BNP Paribas Open, the first Masters 1000 event on the men’s side in 2025, announced its initial player field earlier this week.

Among those on the list is Nick Kyrgios, who has played only two matches this season — losing to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a third-set tiebreaker in Brisbane and to Jake Fearnley in straight sets at the Australian Open. In fact, due to various injuries the 29-year-old Aussie has played just three matches since the start of 2023. He did not look 100 percent last month at Melbourne Park, either.

Nonetheless, Kyrgios recently confirmed on social media that he will be back in Indian Wells.

“To my fans! Appreciate all the support – I will be back home training with my next event being Indian wells was bad timing as was battling through a 4cm abdominal tear/strain at the Australian open. I will be doing everything I can to rehab and prepare for the next events.”

Americans Reilly Opelka and Jenson Brooksby also have direct entry using protected rankings.

The men’s field features world No 1 Jannik Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. As it stands right now, every one of the top 76 players in the current ATP rankings are entered in the Indian Wells draw. That includes No 6 Novak Djokovic, who is a five-time champion in the desert but has not lifted the trophy since 2016. Djokovic infamously lost to Luca Nardi in the third round last year.

On the women’s side, the BNP Paribas Open is a Premier 1000 tournament. World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, defending champion Iga Swiatek and Australian Open winner Madison Keys are among the throng of star players heading to Palm Springs, California in early March.

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