Sloane Stephens‘ first win of the season will not come at the 2025 Indian Wells Open after she was forced to withdraw because of an injury.
The last ten months have been the most challenging of Stephens’ career. In April, she went on a seven-match winning streak after claiming the title at the Rouen Open and earning two more victories at the Madrid Open.
Unfortunately, the affable American has only won two matches since. The most recent of those was at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships and she is on a ten-match losing streak, the most recent setback coming last week in Merida.
Those struggles mean Stephens has dropped outside of the Top 100. Despite how tough the current WTA Tour is, seeing someone in her class so low in the rankings feels strange and shocking.
Stephens’ name recognition as the 2017 US Open champion meant the Indian Wells Open giving her a wild card for the tournament was unsurprising. She would have faced fellow former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin in the opening round.
However, the event’s X (formerly Twitter) page announced that Stephens withdrew with an injury. She has an issue with her foot.
It is currently unknown when Stephens sustained that injury. The 2018 French Open runner-up did not seem to be in any pain during her loss to Petra Martic in Merida, but she might have been hiding some pain in her foot.
Stephens’ struggles for the last 10 months do not change the fact her withdrawal is a blow to the tournament. She remains a popular figure in the women’s game with an engaging personality that generates attention at tournaments.
Sonay Kartal replaces Stephens at the Indian Wells Open. The Briton became known to many tennis fans after winning the 2024 Jasmin Open as a qualifier, defeating Rebecca Sramkova in the final in Tunisia.
The disappointment of Stephens’ absence does not change the fact that several outstanding women’s players are in the draw. Coco Gauff will hope to end her three-match losing streak at the tournament.
Gauff had been playing some of the best tennis of her career until those defeats, but it is not something to be overly concerned about and probably just a minor blip that she will recover from quickly.
The 21-year-old recently turned heads at the 2025 Oscars Ceremony. Gauff wore an elegant yellow dress that was adored by her large online following. She went to the prestigious event alongside her mother.
Iga Swiatek will defend her title at the Indian Wells Open. The four-time French Open champion won the tournament in California for the second time after comfortably defeating Maria Sakkari in the final.
Swiatek did not produce her best tennis during the Middle Eastern swing, but her form was actually better than Gauff and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Amanda Ansimova won the 2025 Qatar Open and Mirra Andreeva secured the 2025 Dubai Championships in the Middle East.
This year’s Indian Wells Open got underway on Wednesday, but the Top 32 seeds will not be in action until Friday since they received byes into the second-round.
