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Monica Puig: searching for redemption at 2018 Indian Wells

By Harry Floyd

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Monica Puig of Puerto Rico plays a backhand in her first round match against Samantha Stosur of Australia on day one of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 15, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Monica Puig of Puerto Rico plays a backhand in her first round match against Samantha Stosur of Australia on day one of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 15, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) /
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Monica Puig wins her opener at Indian Wells. The Puerto Rican tennis star is looking to rediscover career heights on the 2018 WTA Tour.

Monica Puig is the current world No. 83 on the WTA Tour. She is a former world No. 27 on the tour, having reached career heights in 2016. With her Olympics success, Puig has made herself a player to always watch in any match she plays.

Winning her opening round match at Indian Wells, Puig defeats Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil. She takes down the young Brazilian tennis player in straight sets. Despite a hard-fought tiebreak in the second set, the Puerto Rican tennis star rose to the occasion and came out on top. She moves on and faces Anastasija Sevastova next at the WTA Premier event.

Sevastova is the No. 21 seed this week at Indian Wells. The Latvian tennis star is the current world No. 20 in women’s singles tennis. With a packed field this year, anything can happen on the women’s side. Puig and Sevastova are just two of many players who could make deep runs at Indian Wells. The winner of their match is undoubtedly a contender.

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Elena Vesnina is the defending champion in women’s singles at Indian Wells. She is the No. 24 seed at the event this year.

The field is seeing a fantastic mix of both veteran tennis players and young talent. Puig is somewhere in the middle of that. At just 24-years-old, she has seen flashes of the highest success in women’s singles tennis. She is yet to, however, prove herself to be a dominant player atop the singles rankings. Currently, players such as Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep, and Garbine Muguruza have emerged as the players to beat on the WTA Tour. Puig will need to be at her best if she hopes to make a run at Indian Wells this month.

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On the men’s singles side, Roger Federer is the defending champion. He also takes on a talented field of players at the Masters 1000 tournament on the ATP World Tour. Both the women’s and men’s sides are sure to see some strong action at Indian Wells. Check back to see if Monica Puig can continue her strong start to the tournament as she takes on Sevastova next at the WTA Premier tournament.

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