Day one of the 2026 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells was a tough one for the Canadian women. Both Bianca Andreescu and Marina Stakusic were defeated from a set up in the first round on Wednesday.
Andreescu, the 2019 Indian Wells champion, was competing in Tennis Paradise for the first time since 2023 and took the opening set against world No. 88 Kamilla Rakhimova. But as the match went along, the Uzbekistani forced her way onto the front foot and handed the Canadian, who struggled with blisters late in the match, her earliest ever loss in the Coachella Valley 6-7(6), 6-0, 6-1.
Rakhimova was the more solid of the two, hitting 31 winners and unforced errors, while Andreescu only managed 25 winners and committed 38 unforced errors. The Uzbekistani kept the former champion under constant pressure on serve, creating 13 break-point chances and breaking serve seven times.
The opening set was full of momentum swings right from the start. Rakhimova had the first look at a break in the Canadian’s opening service game, which Andreescu erased with a clever counter drop. She went on to hold, kicking off a three-game run as the former champ scored the first break. However, the Uzbekistani responded with a three-game run of her own as she broke in the sixth game to get back on serve.
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From there, things settled down and both women largely held serve without much fuss. In the tiebreak, Rakhimova put away a smash at the end of a wild rally on Andreescu’s first serve point in the tiebreaker to grab the early lead. She managed to stay ahead and had three set points at 6-3, but the former champion dug in. Andreescu saved the first two set points on her own serve with some huge hitting, then, when the Uzbekistani had a chance to serve it out, the Canuck played a clever point, using high looping backhand to push her opponent back before finishing with a drop shot.
Missing the three set points seemed to completely deflate Rakhimova. At 6-6, she netted a swinging forehand volley from the middle of the court to give Andreescu a chance to close it out. The Canadian made no mistake, ripping a laser of a forehand inside-out to complete the comeback.
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While letting her chances to close out the first slip away seemed to affect Rakhimova in the breaker, she moved on very quicky to start the second. The Uzbekistani won 12 of the first 15 points in the set and even once Andreescu started to claw her way into games, there was little she could do to slow her opponent down.
The only adversity Rakhimova faced in the second was having to save a pair of break points in the sixth and final game, at which point she already had secured three breaks. Still, the Uzbekistani managed to hold to earn the bagel.
It looked like Rakhimova would keep rolling into the third when she led 15-40 on Andreescu’s serve in the opening game, but the Canadian fought back and finally held to stop her opponent’s run. She then had a chance to seize the initiative with a pair of break-point chances in the following game, but Rakhimova saved both and then punished the Mississaugan for the miss, breaking for a 2-1 lead in the next game.
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That hold in the opening game proved to be all the resistance Andreescu was able to muster. The Canadian was struggling with blisters as the match went along and did not have enough in the tank to hang with Rakhimova, who once again reeled off six straight games to punch her ticket to the second round.
Stakusic Falls in Indian Wells Debut
Marina Stakusic’s BNP Paribas Open main-draw debut was spoiled by Anastasia Potapova as the Canadian No. 3 lost 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 in round one on Wednesday.
Holds were hard to come by in the near two-and-a-half-hour match. Both players held 18 break points on the day, but Potapova was more efficient, converting on nine while Stakusic broke on six. The Austrian most important break came late in the third set, saving three match points in the tenth game to stay alive in the event before wrapping up the match with a second-straight break.
Stakusic’s debut got off to an ideal start, applying the pressure right from Potapova’s opening service game. The Mississauga-native held double break point and converted on the second attempt, coupling the loss of serve with a comfortable hold to grab a 3-0 lead.
The Canadian No. 3 remained aggressive on return, holding a total of eight break points over Potapova’s next two service games, with six of them coming in the sixth game alone. A double fault handed Stakusic the break and the opportunity to serve out the set at 5-1.
However, the Canuck was broken in back-to-back service games, cutting her lead to 5-4. Undeterred, Stakusic revived her game at the right time and broke to love, clinching the opener.
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The flurry of breaks continued into the second set as the Canadian was broken for a third-straight time, giving Potapova the early advantage.
Stakusic fought off another break point at 0-2 to end the difficult run on serve, but the 21-year-old couldn’t string together a second consecutive hold, increasing her deficit to 1-4. Potapova eventually sealed the set after winning eight of the final ten points.
Stakusic was resilient in the early stages of the decider, going down a break on two occasions but breaking back twice to go within a hold of equalizing the set at 3-4. The Canadian managed to level and was then a point away from serving for the match at 4-4, 30-40. The world No. 130 went on the attack to force the crucial loss of serve.
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However, Stakusic was under some pressure at 5-4, saving four break points, but the Canadian also had three opportunities to seal the contest and unable to convert. After the sixth deuce, Potapova stayed alive with a vital break on her fifth try.
The Austrian had all the momentum late, winning seven of the next eight points to hold some match points of her own at 5-6, 15-40. Stakusic saved the first with a powerful backhand down the line, but Potapova returned the favour and caught the baseline with a backhand to send her through into the second round.
Canada still has two representatives in the women’s singles in Indian Wells. Both Victoria Mboko and Leylah Annie Fernandez are seeded and have first-round byes. Mboko will make her Indian Wells debut on Friday, while Fernandez will kick off her campaign on Saturday.
Feature Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
