WTA Indian Wells: Can Iga Swiatek break the victor's curse?
Iga Swiatek won the WTA Tour 1000 tournament in Indian Wells last year. If you look at the recent history of the event at Tennis Paradise, the chances of defending the title look rather slim.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Mar 07, 2023, 10:12 am
As is so often the case, the women are one step ahead of the men, as they are already contesting the second 1000 event of the year 2023 in Indian Wells. The first took place in Dubai, where Barbora Krejcikova was surprisingly clear in the final against Iga Swiatek push through.
The cards are now being reshuffled again in Tennis Paradise, Swiatek is starting as number one and as the defending champion. However, the latter makes the industry leader an outsider according to the law of the series. Since Martina Navratilova, who won Indian Wells in 1990 and 1991, no player has managed to defend her title.
Davenport and Ivanovic close
Several players have been able to lift the trophy twice in the past 32 years (Stefanie Graf, Mary-Joe Fernandez, Serena Williams, Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka), but not in consecutive years.
Only two women came close: Davenport, who lost to Martina Hingis in the 1998 final a year after her 1997 win. And Ana Ivanovic, who won in 2008 - only to lose to Vera Zvonareva in the final in 2009.
In addition to Swiatek, only three ex-champion dinners will be at the start this year: Azarenka, then Paula Badosa and also Bianca Andreescu. Naomi Osaka, winner of 2018, is expecting her first child soon, her predecessor Elena Vesnina has already ended her career. And Simona Halep, who won in Indian Wells in 2015, is still waiting for her doping ban to expire. Incidentally, Andreescu could become Iga Swiatek's first seeded opponent in round three.