Indian Wells, CA, United States, 5 March 2025 | Matt Trollope

Nine men and four women will fly the Australian flag at Indian Wells after a successful start to one of the sport’s biggest events outside the Grand Slams.

The combined number of 13 Australians across the men’s and women’s singles draws is the highest number of Aussies competing at Indian Wells since the women’s event was introduced in 1989.

Qualifying concluded at the joint ATP-WTA 1000 tournament on Tuesday (California time), with six Aussies securing their place in the main draw.

It was an especially fruitful day for Australia’s women, with four – Kimberly Birrell, Maya Joint, Ajla Tomljanovic and Maddison Inglis – coming through the final round of qualifying.

Birrell, the top Aussie woman and No.1 seed in qualifying, clinched her spot with a 6-4 6-4 win over Cristina Bucsa, another straight-sets win after her 6-3 6-0 rout of Kristina Penickova in her first match.

DRAW: Indian Wells women’s singles

Joint, Australia’s newest member of the WTA top 100, survived Mirian Bjorkland in three sets to improve her 2025 record to 16-6, while Inglis upstaged 22nd seed Aoi Ito to complete her successful qualifying campaign.

Inglis has now won 13 of 18 matches this season and elevates her live ranking to world No.128.

Tomljanovic, a semifinalist last week in Austin, advanced when opponent Zeynep Sonmez withdrew ahead of their match citing injury.

INDIAN WELLS: Women’s singles main draw

On the men’s side, Li Tu bested James Duckworth in an all-Australian battle to take his place in the main draw.

Tu’s 6-4 6-2 win sees the 28-year-old South Australian clinch a main-draw spot in his first trip to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Later in the day, Adam Walton overcame Michael Mmoh in three sets to make his Indian Wells main-draw debut.

This time last year, he was ranked 150th and fell in the first round of qualifying; now inside the top 100, he hopes to continue his run when he faces fellow qualifier Giulio Zeppieri in round one.

Tu and Walton form part of a nine-strong Aussie men’s contingent in the main draw led by Alex de Minaur, the No.9 seed who after a first-round bye opens against either Lorenzo Sonego or David Goffin.

Alexei Popyrin is also seeded, and like De Minaur enjoys a first-round bye.

DRAW: Indian Wells men’s singles

Also competing in the Californian desert will be Jordan Thompson, Chris O’Connell, Aleksandar Vukic, Rinky Hijikata and Nick Kyrgios, who enters on a protected ranking.

Kyrgios, playing his first tournament since Australian Open 2025, could face Novak Djokovic in the second round.

INDIAN WELLS: Men’s singles main draw

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