The doubles draws in Indian Wells never lack for noteworthy matchups: Established partnerships have to be particularly wary as more singles players creep into the playing field.
The women’s side is well under way, with the top seeds and two-time major winners Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova leading the charge as they try to win their first title of the season. They overcame a potentially tricky team in the first round of Ashleigh Barty and Caroline Garcia, former Grand Slam champs themselves with different partners.
Serena and Venus Williams, who were supposed to play together for the first time since last year's French Open, ended up withdrawing from the tournament. They're not the only headliner that won't be contention to lift the first-place trophy.
Second seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic, last year’s Australian Open and WTA Finals winners, are already out, losing to Top-20 singles standouts Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka. Su-Wei Hsieh and Barbora Strycova, who won Indian Wells last year and are coming off a recent title in Dubai, opened their defense with a straight-sets victory over Karolina Pliskova and Julia Goerges.