Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, has not played at Indian Wells since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. travel restrictions.
Novak Djokovic is expected to make his return to the BNP Paribas Open next month, following a five-year hiatus, leading a field of the world’s top-ranked tennis players back to Indian Wells.
Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion and top-ranked men’s player in the sport, is on the tournament’s entry list, which was released Wednesday. He is a five-time champion at Indian Wells.
The 2024 BNP Paribas Open will run from March 3-17 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Djokovic is joined on the entry list by last year’s Indian Wells champion, second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, last year’s BNP Paribas Open finalist Daniil Medvedev and 2024 Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, who rounds out the top four players in the world.
Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, is also expected to return to Indian Wells this year, after missing last year due to injury. Nadal, 37, returned to the World Tour this week in Doha, after sustaining a muscle tear in Brisbane in January. Nadal will receive an automatic entry to the BNP Paribas Open on a protected ranking.
The 2022 champion at Indian Wells, American Taylor Fritz, will lead an American charge that includes Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Chris Eubanks, Sebastian Korda and Mackenzie McDonald — all currently top 50 players.
Other notable and highly ranked men in the field include Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, former BNP champion Cam Norrie and three-time Slam winner Andy Murray making his 16th trip to Indian Wells.
On the women’s side, top-ranked Iga Świątek, the 2022 champion, is joined by second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who is fresh off an Australian Open title. Defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open Elena Rybakina is in the field along with third-ranked and 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff and fourth-ranked Jessica Pegula.
Gauff and Pegula are hoping to break a long women’s singles drought for American players and they would be the first set of American women ranked in the top four entering Indian Wells since 2001, when Lindsay Davenport was ranked second and Venus Williams third.
Williams, now 43, remains an active player and recently said that she would like to play at Indian Wells this year. She would need a wild card entry to do it, and wild cards will not be announced by the tournament until later this month. Williams has not played at the BNP Paribas Open since 2019.
Fans should also expect to see four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka return to Indian Wells this year following a year off during the pregnancy of her daughter, who was born on July 7. Osaka, like, Nadal, will receive an automatic entry on a protected ranking.
Breakout star Qinwen Zheng, now ranked No. 7 in the world after making the Australian Open final, will be one to watch along with other top-ranked women looking for a BNP breakthrough like Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur and Karolina Muchova.
Rounding out the women’s field will be former champs like Paula Badosa and Victoria Azarenka as well as top 50 American players like Madison Keys, Emma Navarro, Sloane Stephens and Sofia Kenin. Just like Osaka, Angelique Kerber will also return to the desert after missing 2023 on maternity leave.
Novak Djokovic, 36, has also been away from Indian Wells for that long. The 2020 event was canceled on the eve of the first day due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which initially shut down much of the world and nearly every sporting event for several weeks.
The 2021 BNP Paribas Open was moved to October of that year, which conflicted with some schedules and Djokovic opted not to come to the California desert for the event, which also did not include icons Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.
Due to an American travel restriction for foreigners not vaccinated for COVID-19, Djokovic was unable to enter the country for the 2022 tournament. Last year, with the mandate still in place until May 11, Djokovic applied for an exception before ultimately withdrawing just before the start of the tournament.
Djokovic has not played at Indian Wells or the Miami Open, referred to as the Sunshine Double, since 2019. Indian Wells and Miami are the two largest American tournaments after the U.S. Open.
Notably, Djokovic holds the best career win percentage (84.75%) at Indian Wells, having won the tournament in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Djokovic also set the tournament record with 20 consecutive wins from 2014-17 and has a good shot to break every major career record that he doesn’t already own at the tournament this year.
The remaining spots in the draw aside from the top players in the world will be filled by winners in the qualifying tournament March 3-5 and by wild-card recipients which will be announced in the coming weeks.
