WTA Indian Wells: Zhang Shuai Suffers "Reversal of Fortunes" by Her Former Victim, Wang Xinyu's First-Round Opponent Determined

On March 4 local time, the main draw of the ATP/WTA 1000 Indian Wells tournament commenced. In the women's singles upper half, Chinese player Zhang Shuai fell to Yastremska 3-6, 2-6 in the first round, with her live ranking now at No. 60. Despite Zhang's recent good form and having won all three of her previous encounters against the Ukrainian, Yastremska performed excellently today, leaving Zhang few opportunities. Zhang will continue to compete in the women's doubles event here, partnering again with Mertens, with whom she won the Australian Open title. Their first-round match is against the young duo Mboko/Andreeva.

Zhang Shuai

Zhang Shuai started strong, quickly taking a 2-0 lead, but was then broken four consecutive times as her opponent reversed the momentum. Although Zhang fought hard to hold serve late in the set, she couldn't find a chance to mount a comeback, dropping the first set 3-6. In the second set, Yastremska maintained her aggressive play, building a 5-1 lead with two breaks of serve. She ultimately converted her first match point in the service game to close out the match 6-2.

Wang Xinyu

Tomljanovic defeated Rus 7-5, 6-2 in the first round and will face Chinese player and 30th seed Wang Xinyu in the second round. The two have met only once before, at the 2022 Nottingham event, where Wang lost in straight sets.

In other women's singles matches, former champion Badosa was eliminated in the first round, losing to Putintseva 4-6, 2-6. Putintseva will next face 14th seed Tauson. The former world No. 2's 2026 season has been somewhat bleak, with a current record of 3 wins and 6 losses. She retired mid-match in the second round in Dubai due to injury and subsequently withdrew from last week's Merida event as the injury persisted. Her world ranking has now officially fallen outside the top 100.

Another former champion, Andreescu, also exited in the first round. The Canadian star, playing on a wild card, was upset by qualifier Rakhimova 7-6(6), 0-6, 1-6. Andreescu chose to return to lower-level tournaments early this year, winning three consecutive ITF titles in January to climb back into the top 200. However, upon returning to the tour level, she suffered first-round exits in both Austin and Indian Wells. The road back to the top remains long for the former US Open champion.

Other Women's Singles First Round Results

[Q]Sakatsume 6-4, 6-3 [W]Parks

Osorio 6-4, 6-1 [W]Stephens

Cristian 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) Tsurenko

Cirstea 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 Maria

Birrell 6-1, 6-4 Sherif

Blinkova 6-4, 7-5 [L]Garfi

Badosa Gibert 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-1 Maya

[Q]Gibson 6-3, 7-5 Jijin Li

[Q]Kazionova 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4 McNally

Potapova 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 [Q]Stakusic

Seymour 7-6(7), 6-0 Kessler

[Q]Zakharova 6-2, 6-2 Seidel

In men's singles, the lower half commenced first. The "one-handed backhand duel" between Tsitsipas and Shapovalov was the final match on center court, with the Canadian prevailing 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. In other completed matches, former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini collapsed on court due to cramping after coming back to defeat Mannarino 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. The Italian sat on the court for about five minutes while the ATP supervisor and physiotherapist attended to him. Although Berrettini had lost both previous meetings with Mannarino, he gave his all today to secure his first win against the French veteran. He will face fourth seed Zverev in the second round.

French star Monfils defeated Galan 6-3, 6-4, becoming the second-oldest winner in the tournament's history (39 years, 6 months). Only Karlovic was older when he reached the fourth round here in 2019 (age 40). Monfils will face ninth seed Auger-Aliassime in the second round.

19-year-old Brazilian newcomer Fonseca started with a victory, defeating Collignon 7-6(2), 6-4. This marks only his second tour-level win of the season. He will next face 16th seed Khachanov, who, along with Medvedev and Rublev, has successfully traveled from Dubai to Indian Wells.

Other Men's Singles First Round Results

Szczepanski 7-6(5), 6-4 Cilic

Brooksby 6-3, 6-4 Popirin

Giron 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 Navone

Diallo 7-6(5), 6-4 Bellucci

Fucsovics 7-5, 6-3 [Q]O'Connell

Bergs 6-3, 6-4 Struff

Kecmanovic 6-3, 1-0 Ret. Altmaier

Opelka 7-5, 7-6(3) Quinn

[Q]Svrčina 6-2, 6-4 Duckworth

Carabelli 7-6(5), 6-3 [W]Damm

Walton 6-3, 6-3 Aris

(Text/Editor: Wang Fei, Photo/Visual China)