10 players to watch at Indian Wells & Miami Open 2026

These back-to-back hard court events are two of the biggest tournaments in the tennis calendar with all the best tennis stars in the world hoping to get their hands on the title.

Ahead of Indian Wells and the Miami Open this year, we break down the players to keep an eye on in 2026.

Jack Draper

British No.1 Jack Draper is one of the most intriguing players coming into the 2026 Indian Wells and Miami Open, having recently made his return to the tour.

After a lengthy spell with injury – dating back to Wimbledon last year – Draper made his comeback with a win for Great Britain at the Davis Cup, followed by a victory on his return to ATP Tour in Dubai.

The British star will be defending points in California having won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells last year. Draper beat Joao Fonseca, Jenson Brooksby, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune en route to the biggest achievement of his career so far.

The 24-year-old is a strong hard court player and is a previous US Open semi-finalist. It will be interesting to see how Draper bounces back at a tournament that holds such a special significance for him.

Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu has continued to make strides this season having made her second career WTA final in Transylvania just a few weeks ago.

The world No.25 has had success at both tournaments in the past. She made the fourth round of Indian Wells in 2023 and made the quarter-finals in Miami last year – including wins over then world No.8 Emma Navarro and last year’s Wimbledon and US Open runner-up Amanda Anisimova.

Raducanu will be hoping that the sunshine swing can give her the opportunity to find some consistent results and build momentum for the rest of the season.

Katie Boulter

In 2026, Katie Boulter has been one of the in-form British players across both the ATP and WTA tours.

The 29-year-old Briton made headlines in February after winning her fourth career WTA title at the Ostrava Open – catapulting her back inside the top 100 and closing in on the top 50.

Boulter followed up with a strong run at the WTA 500 Merida Open and will now head to the US full of confidence.

Due to her ranking earlier in the season, Boulter will have to come through qualifying in Indian Wells but does have direct entry for Miami. Can the former British No.1 continue her form on US soil?

Cam Norrie

Another former Indian Wells champion returning to the desert this year will be British No.2 Cam Norrie.

Back in 2021, Norrie became the first British player to ever win the Indian Wells singles title before going on to break into the world’s top 10.

Over the last year, Norrie has brought his best tennis at the biggest events. He reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, third round in US Open, won some significant Davis Cup rubbers in Poland and Norway, and made the third round of the Australian Open.

Norrie is now up to No.26 in the world and is likely to be seeded at both tournaments. Returning to one of his favourite events on the tour, could we see the best from the Brit so far this season?

Carlos Alcaraz

All the questions surrounding Carlos Alcaraz at the start of the season have quickly disappeared with the 22-year-old Spaniard making an unbeaten start to the season.

He recently became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open and then backing it up with the Qatar Open title.

Alcaraz comes in as the undeniable favourite for both titles, but will Jannik Sinner or the rest of the pack find a way to overthrow the two-time Indian Wells and former Miami champion this month?

Jessica Pegula

Since the US Open, very few players have been in as good form as world No.5 Jessica Pegula and the American seems to be hitting the peak of her powers right now.

Over the last six months, Pegula has reached the semi-finals of the US Open, Australian Open and WTA Finals, made the final of the Wuhan Open and Billie Jean King Cup and recently won the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Championships.

Pegula – who has already confirmed her spot at this year’s HSBC Championships – has also enjoyed a lot of her biggest successes on home soil in the States.

She reached her first Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2024 and has won five of her 10 WTA titles in either the US or Canada – could she add Indian Wells or Miami to her trophy cabinet this year?

Ben Shelton

Another home favourite gunning for this year’s titles will be 23-year-old, world No.9, Ben Shelton.

Last year, the big-serving, baseline powerhouse ticked off a new milestone in winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Canada and will be one of the main contenders in Indian Wells and Miami.

Coming off the back of a quarter-final run at the Australian Open, Shelton proved his quality at the ATP 500 Dallas Open this month, saving three championship points to beat fellow American Taylor Fritz in the final.

Shelton has all the weapons to be a serious threat on the outdoor hard courts of Indian Wells and Miami, and if he can pull everything together, is certainly one to watch for a title run.

Elena Rybakina

World No.3 Elena Rybakina is arguably the player to beat in the big tournaments on the WTA Tour right now.

The Kazakh closed out last year by winning the WTA Finals and then in January, beat Iga Swiatek, Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka to lift her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Now back in Indian Wells – where she won the title back in 2023 – Rybakina will also be looking to defend her mixed doubles trophy alongside Fritz.