The top of the women’s game is still up for grabs. We’ve had so many different winners at the most important events in the last couple of years that predicting winners has become a real challenge. Just when you think one woman is on the verge of consolidating the top ranking, she is quickly dethroned by someone else. Case and point is Sofia Kenin’s surprise win at the Australian Open this year. Following that win, Kenin proceed to lose in the first round in both Dubai and Qatar. This drop in form after a slam has become the standard in Women’s tennis. It has happened to Barty, Osaka, Muguruza, and Halep. Now Kenin joins that list. So, don’t expect Kenin to make much noise at Indian Wells this year.

Who’s got a shot? It’s anyone’s guess! For all we know, Bencic could run the tables and take the title – it’s entirely possible. Madison Keys could too. Any of the top 15 women have a shot at this title, including defending champion Andreescu, who’s coming back from injury.

That being said, I think the top two seeds have been playing some consistent tennis through the start of the year. Barty and Halep are mature, utmost professionals that you can count on. Especially Halep, she rarely gets surprised and get sent packing by an upstart in the early rounds anymore. Tribute this to her maturity. This year Halep went down tough to Muguruza in the Australian Open semifinal, and then captured Dubai. Two incredibly solid results heading into Indian Wells. She’s not blowing anyone off the court, but she’s winning a lot of long three set matches as of late, against hard hitting players like Sabalenka and Rybakina.

Barty is also playing well, even though she had a disappointing semifinal loss to Kenin at the Australian and Semifinal loss to Kvitova in Qatar. She’s been able to keep her number one ranking among the chaos of Women’s tennis, which is commendable. How she will fare at Indian Wells will depend on her draw.