Venus Williams gets Indian Wells wild card as tournament hands out 2026 invites
venus williams has received a main-draw wild card into the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, the tournament confirmed, setting up a headline moment in “Tennis Paradise. ” The event said venus williams, at 45, is expected to become the oldest player to ever contest a main-draw match at the tournament. The announcement comes as Indian Wells also issued a wave of wild cards across the men’s and women’s draws and qualifying fields.
Venus Williams set for record moment in “Tennis Paradise”
The BNP Paribas Open stated that venus williams received her main-draw wild card last week. The tournament added that, at 45, venus williams will become the oldest player to ever contest a main-draw match in Tennis Paradise.
Indian Wells did not specify how long venus williams plans to remain in the event or provide additional competitive details in the announcement. What is clear from the tournament’s statement is the scale of the moment: a seven-time major champion entering the main draw with a record attached to her first appearance in this edition of the event.
Wild cards also awarded to Gael Monfils, Bianca Andreescu, and others
Alongside the notice on venus williams, Indian Wells outlined a broader wild-card slate led by 39-year-old Gael Monfils, who has been awarded a wild card into the men’s singles draw and is slated to make his final appearance in the Coachella Valley. The tournament said Monfils made his Indian Wells debut as a wild card in 2005 and will be making his 16th appearance in the California desert.
The event also noted that earlier this week Monfils became the oldest Frenchman to ever win a match on the ATP Tour in Acapulco. Indian Wells added that the two-time quarterfinalist has announced plans to retire at the end of the 2026 season.
On the women’s side, the tournament said 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu is among the wild-card recipients, alongside 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens. Indian Wells said Andreescu will make her fourth appearance at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and her first since 2023. The event added that Andreescu recently won a title in Vero Beach, Florida, and is seeking her first tour-level win of the season.
Indian Wells also listed main-draw wild cards for 2024 Olympic Silver Medalist Donna Vekic, 2021 Australian Open runner-up Jennifer Brady, 2025 Roland Garros Junior Champion Lilli Tagger, and Americans Alycia Parks and Katie Volynets. On the men’s side, the tournament said Americans Martin Damm Jr. and Zachary Svajda also received men’s singles wild cards, noting that Svajda is a Southern California native.
Qualifying invites expand the field with juniors and college talent
In its announcement, the BNP Paribas Open said qualifying wild cards were also issued, including to Jagger Leach, Elizabeth Mandlik, and former junior No. 4 Darwin Blanch. The tournament identified Leach as the son of two-time women’s singles champion Lindsay Davenport and said the 18-year-old has already posted a winning experience at the site, claiming the Boys’ singles and doubles titles at the third annual FILA International Junior Championships. Indian Wells added that Leach is a Laguna Beach, California native and a freshman at Stanford.
On Blanch, the event said he trains at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Tennis Academy in Villena, Spain, and earned his first ATP Tour win in Winston-Salem last year, becoming the youngest American man to record an ATP Tour win since Frances Tiafoe in 2015. The tournament also listed Trevor Svajda, Andrew Johnson, and Izyan Zizou Ahmad as men’s qualifying wild-card recipients, while noting that 2025 FILA International Junior Champion Julieta Pareja, Emerson Jones, Mary Stoiana, Elvina Kalieva, Elizabeth Mandlik, and Akasha Urhobo received women’s qualifying draw wild cards.
What’s next at Indian Wells
The BNP Paribas Open’s wild-card release sets the immediate stage for a main-draw spotlight on venus williams, while also framing what the tournament billed as a final Coachella Valley appearance for Monfils and a return opportunity for Andreescu after her last Indian Wells showing in 2023. The next concrete checkpoint will be the tournament’s scheduling and the release of matchups as the event progresses, with venus williams now officially in the main draw and the broader wild-card class positioned across singles and qualifying.
