Main draw action kicked off on an idyllic Wednesday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, with 16 first-round women’s singles matches taking place across the grounds.

Scroll down for a rundown of Wednesday’s action.

Former Champion Badosa Out At First Hurdle

In early action, Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva dashed the hopes of 2021 champion Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 on Stadium 1, trimming the number of former champions in the draw by one.

World No. 76 Putintseva improved to 2-4 in six career meetings with the Spaniard, and picked up her first win since achieving a career-best performance at the Australian Open by reaching the round of 16. Badosa struggled to find the court early and often, committing 47 unforced errors, including 10 double faults. The Kazakhstani, making her 11th appearance in the California desert, sets up a second-round clash with No. 17 seed Clara Tauson.

Andreescu's Early Exit

In the first match of the evening session, 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu also lost at the first hurdle. The Canadian wild card bowed out to qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-7(6), 6-0, 6-1.

It was a drastic turnaround after Andreescu saved three set points to take the opener. She was blitzed in the middle set and took a medical timeout between the second and third sets to have what looked to be a foot injury tended to.

Andreescu held serve in the first game of the third set, but was visibly hampered while doing so. She dropped the final six games of the match, as Rakhimova set a second-round clash with Coco Gauff.

The Canadian's loss leaves just four former champions remaning in the draw: Mirra Andreeva (2025), Iga Swiatek (2022 and 2024), Elena Rybakina (2023), and Naomi Osaka (2018).

Cirstea Prolongs Her Stay

Tennis fans will bid farewell to Sorana Cirstea at the end of her run in Tennis Paradise — the Romanian has announced plans to retire at the end of the season. On Wednesday, she displayed no interest in saying goodbye to the California desert, battling past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the first match on Stadium 3.

Cirstea, a former World No. 21, remains in strong form at No. 38 in the rankings, and she’s riding high after reaching a career milestone in February by winning a title on home soil in Cluj-Napoca.

She carries an 11-3 overall record in 2026 into her second-round clash with Diana Shnaider.

The 2023 quarterfinalist made her tournament debut in 2009 and will bid for her third career Top 20 win in the California desert against the 21-year-old Shnaider.