Daniil Medvedev endures a 7-hour drive to Oman, a misplaced passport, and a 14-hour flight to escape Dubai.

Venus Williams goes the distance, but falls short at Indian Wells.

Plus, take a look at the Day 3 OOP for Indian Wells tomorrow! 👀

Let's get you caught up on all the results, ramblings, and rigmarole from across the world of tennis.

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🏆 Century Club Venus Williams falls to qualifier Diane Parry, 6-3, 6-7⁴, 6-1, but the number that carries the day is 110. That is how many Tier 1/WTA 1000 main-draw appearances Williams has now made, tying Francesca Schiavone for sixth all-time since the format launched in 1990. At 45, she is the second-oldest player ever at this level, behind only Martina Navratilova. After a thunderous forehand winner late in the match, she turns to the crowd and raises a fist. She is smiling. So is everyone in the stadium.

✈️ Lost and Found To understand how #2 seed Daniil Medvedev reached Indian Wells, start in Dubai, where the ongoing Middle East conflict has grounded most direct routes west. His group drives seven hours toward Oman, turns back at the border when their driver loses his passport, waits in the parking lot while he finds it, re-crosses, overnights in Oman, flies to Istanbul, and connects to Los Angeles alongside Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.

❤️ Juanki Speaks Juan Carlos Ferrero appears on La Sexta Thursday for his first extended interview since the Carlos Alcaraz split became public in December. The former world #1 says he has not seen the current world #1 since the ATP Finals in Turin last November, though they have exchanged messages. Ferrero says he only wants a coffee, a hug, and if the schedules align, a round of golf. "We have it pending," he says, "and it's going to happen."

👔 Tunnel Vision The ATP launches its Athlete Arrivals program at Indian Wells, borrowing the runway-style format the NBA and WNBA have turned into a cultural moment. Former GQ Fashion Director Mobolaji Dawodu worked with eight players ahead of the debut, including Taylor Fritz, Jakub Mensik, Zizou Bergs, and Frances Tiafoe, through the ATP's new Styling Studios initiative. Rublev, fresh off his own Oman odyssey, arrives looking entirely unbothered.

🎾 Minding His Business Grigor Dimitrov edges Terence Atmane, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, in gusty conditions to set up a 2nd-round meeting with #1 seed Carlos Alcaraz. The 34yo Bulgarian is candid afterward: he is not close to his best tennis, and seven wasted break points at 5-5 in the second set made that visible. But, the Bulgarian isn't giving much thought to who he's facing next. At this point in his career, Dimitrov says, he looks at his side of the net. Full stop.

🎮 The Sinner Show World #2 seed Jannik Sinner debuts Friday against qualifier Dalibor Svrcina with a specific on-court goal: more aggression from the baseline. Off court, he joins a growing list of ATP & WTA stars launching (or reviving) their own YouTube channels. Sinner says the content is designed to show fans the actual texture of his life, golf, PlayStation, the unglamorous in-between. "I do sacrifice a lot to be in the position where I am," he says, "but it is important to surround yourself with good people."

🙌 He Won't Go Quietly Gaël Monfils opens his farewell tour at Indian Wells with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Alexis Galarneau and earns a 2nd-round date with #9 seed Félix Auger-Aliassime. After the match, he traces the whole arc back to a 2004 Bercy wildcard, a night-session win over Thomas Enqvist, a loss to world #2 Lleyton Hewitt, and a thought that changed everything: maybe he was closer to the top than he knew.

💪 Seven Up Taylor Townsend dispatches Marie Bouzkova, 6-2, 6-1, in 75 minutes to run her current stretch to seven wins in her last eight matches. The 29yo returned to the Top 100 this week at #87 after reaching her first WTA Tour final in Austin last week. She drops serve twice on Thursday, both times already up a break, and re-breaks immediately each time. Next: #28 seed Marta Kostyuk.

🚨 Comeback Kid Kamilla Rakhimova reaches the main draw at Indian Wells as a qualifier and moves on as a 1st round winner over 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu, 6-7⁶, 6-0, 6-1. Rakhimova leads the first-set tiebreak 6-3 with three set points, loses five straight, and then responds by winning 11 of the final 12 games. Andreescu, battling foot blisters and seven months without a tour-level win, never finds her footing in the third. Rakhimova's reward: #4 seed Coco Gauff.

🎾 Free Agent Emma Raducanu arrives at Indian Wells ranked #24 and without a permanent coach, working this week with Mark Petchey and hitting partner Alexis Canter. She wants her natural game back, the one she says has been coached out of her. She is skeptical of the single-coach model, wary of scrutiny forcing her to stick with a wrong fit. The former US Open champion says she's not ruling out a permanent appointment, but she's also not rushing toward one.

🌸 Wild Bloom Donna Vekic, ranked #103, needs a wildcard to make the main draw at Indian Wells this year, but finds a way to survive Czech up-and-comer Tereza Valentova, 7-6⁴, 7-6⁴. It's the Croatian's first tour-level win since October, setting her up for a 2nd round showdown with Jessica Pegula.

"Deep down in my heart, I couldn't say no to Alcaraz." - Juan Carlos Ferrero on whether he could envision coaching Carlos Alcaraz again¹

"You feel like you're in a Hollywood movie: crossing the border with other people, visiting Oman for the first time." - Daniil Medvedev to Bolshe journalist Sofya Tartakova, on his travel route to Indian Wells²

"If I win, great. If I lose, great again. This is the mindset that I want to adopt a lot more." - Grigor Dimitrov ahead of his 2nd-round meeting with #1 seed Carlos Alcaraz³

"I was up 6-3, we saw that. Tennis happens, it happens. I needed to come back stronger and to keep doing my thing." - Kamilla Rakhimova after squandering three set points in the opening tiebreak against Bianca Andreescu⁴

"I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that's something that has been coached out of me a little bit." - Emma Raducanu to BBC Sport, ahead of her BNP Paribas Open debut⁵

"Every second of this race has been something I couldn't even dream of." - Gaël Monfils reflecting on his career after opening his farewell season at Indian Wells⁶

"I'm trying to be slightly more aggressive at times on the baseline, and then we see how it goes." - Jannik Sinner on his technical goals heading into his Indian Wells debut⁷

BNP PARIBAS OPEN (ATP 1000) — 2nd Round

◆ Jannik Sinner (2) vs. Dalibor Svrcina (Q)

◆ Lorenzo Musetti (5) vs. Marton Fucsovics

◆ Ben Shelton (8) vs. Reilly Opelka

◆ Félix Auger-Aliassime (9) vs. Gaël Monfils (WC)

◆ Jakub Mensik (12) vs. Marcos Giron

◆ Flavio Cobolli (15) vs. Miomir Kecmanovic

◆ Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (18) vs. Zachary Svajda (WC)

◆ Frances Tiafoe (21) vs. Jenson Brooksby

◆ Tommy Paul (23) vs. Zizou Bergs

◆ Learner Tien (25) vs. Adam Walton

◆ Brandon Nakashima (28) vs. Camilo Ugo Carabelli

◆ Tomas Martin Etcheverry (29) vs. Denis Shapovalov

◆ Arthur Fils (30) vs. Dino Prizmic (Q)

BNP PARIBAS OPEN (WTA 1000) — 2nd Round

◆ Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Himeno Sakatsume (Q)

◆ Coco Gauff (4) vs. Kamilla Rakhimova (Q)

◆ Amanda Anisimova (6) vs. Anna Blinkova

◆ Jasmine Paolini (7) vs. Anastasia Potapova

◆ Victoria Mboko (10) vs. Kimberly Birrell

◆ Ekaterina Alexandrova (11) vs. Talia Gibson (Q)

◆ Linda Noskova (14) vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

◆ Clara Tauson (17) vs. Yulia Putintseva

◆ Iva Jovic (18) vs. Camila Osorio

◆ Naomi Osaka (16) vs. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (Q)

◆ Diana Shnaider (21) vs. Sorana Cirstea

◆ Anna Kalinskaya (23) vs. Zeynep Sonmez

◆ Emma Raducanu (25) vs. Anastasia Zakharova (Q)

◆ Maya Joint (29) vs. Jaqueline Cristian

◆ Xinyu Wang (30) vs. Ajla Tomljanovic

◆ Alexandra Eala (31) vs. Dayana Yastremska

¹ Encabo, Nacho. "Juan Carlos Ferrero's open wound." CLAY, March 5, 2026. link

² Tartakova, Sofya. Interview with Daniil Medvedev. Bolshe, March 2026.

³ ATP Staff. "Dimitrov delivers to set Alcaraz showdown at Indian Wells." ATP Tour, March 5, 2026. link

⁴ Bambini, Cole. "Rakhimova ousts Andreescu, sets up Indian Wells showdown against Gauff." WTA Tour, March 5, 2026. link

⁵ Guardian Sport and Agencies. "Emma Raducanu hopes to rediscover 'natural' style." The Guardian, March 5, 2026. link

⁶ Jiménez, Iker. "Monfils: 'Every second of this race has been something I couldn't even dream of.'" Puntodebreak, March 5, 2026. link

⁷ Fairbairn, Tony. "Jannik Sinner Aiming To Show More Personality Ahead Of Indian Wells Title Bid." Ubitennis, March 5, 2026. link

Additional Sources

Garber, Greg. "Venus Williams falls to Parry, but the appreciation endures at Indian Wells." WTA Tour, March 5, 2026. link

L'Équipe. "Diane Parry defeats Venus Williams in the first round of Indian Wells." L'Équipe, March 6, 2026. link

WTA Staff. "Townsend continues strong form to win Indian Wells opener." WTA Tour, March 5, 2026. link

WTA Staff. "Vekic fends off Indian Wells newcomer Valentova for first 2026 tour-level win." WTA Tour, March 6, 2026. link

ATP Staff. "ATP Athlete Arrivals: Fashion takes centre court at Indian Wells." ATP Tour, March 5, 2026. link

Murciego, Fernando. "Dimitrov reveals his new philosophy ahead of facing Alcaraz." Puntodebreak, March 6, 2026. link