Updated March 9, 2026, 5:09 p.m. PT
Eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva, the defending champion at Indian Wells, is out after a stunning 4-6, 6-7(5), 6-3 loss to unseeded Katerina Siniakova on Stadium Court on Monday.
Andreeva, who won the title last year at just 17, looked poised to win back-to-back titles at the BNP Paribas Open. No woman has done that at Indian Wells since Martina Navratilova, who did it in 1990 and 1991.
For the 34th consecutive year now, a new champion will be crowned at Indian Wells. The one exception is when the tournament was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Russian tennis star looked dominant in her opening match on Saturday with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Solana Sierra. But on Monday, after winning the first set, Andreeva couldn’t put Siniakova away. She lost the second set tiebreak, then went down a break and missed on a couple routine shots that kept Siniakova in control of the final set.
Siniakova, a 29-year-old from Croatia, beat Grand Slam champion Sophia Kenin in the opening round before beating Grand Slam finalist Leylah Fernandez in the second round.
Jessica Pegula wins carbon copy match
Not sure if Jessica Pegula is a fan of the movie “Groundhog Day” but it seemed like she relived the same match she played in the second round in Monday’s third round.
Pegula, seeded No. 5, lost the first set to No. 26 Jelena Ostapenko on Monday but recovered to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. In Saturday’s second round, Pegula lost the first set to Donna Vekic but eventually won 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
She was happy to get through a tough opponent like Ostapenko.
“Playing Jelena is always really tough, can be very frustrating with the way she’s able to hit winners and take time away,” she said. “So luckily I was able to just hold onto my serve there in the second set and find chances to break, but yeah, it was really tough. To be honest, I didn’t think I really played that bad at any point. I actually thought I played pretty well throughout the entire match. If anything, was able to kind of pick up my level towards the end.”
Other results
(13) Karolina Muchova def. Antonia Ruzic 6-0, 6-3: If you’re looking for a sleeper pick to win the BNP Paribas Open, Muchova would be a good bet. Coming off a Masters 1000 victory in Qatar, Muchova is playing high quality tennis and she brought it to the desert. She needed just an hour and 10 minutes to top Ruzic. Next up she will face the winner of a match between Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari.
(12) Belinda Bencic def. (22) Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-3: Belinda Bencic, has had success here in the past, is just quietly moving through the bracket without breaking much of a sweat. She picked up her second straight 6-2, 6-3 win on Monday, taking down the No. 22 seed with ease. Next up is a matchup with Jessica Pegula, whom she has beaten all four times they’ve played.
