Newly crowned Australian Open champion Madison Keys returns to the court for the first time since her triumph in Melbourne this week at the BNP Paribas Open.
Keys’ reward?
Statistically, she faces the toughest draw among the top players when the 96-player WTA 1000 event starts March 5 in Indian Wells, Calif.
Madison Keys got a challenging draw for the BNP Paribas Open
Keys’ likely opponent after a first-round bye is world No. 34 Anastasia Potapova, one of the best of the unseeded players. A matchup against fellow top 10 player Emma Navarro looms in the Round of 16. Keys also landed in the same half of the draw as top seed Aryna Sabalenka and world No. 3 Coco Gauff.
Statistically, No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini has the best draw among the seeded players, based on the average world ranking of likely opponents. Paolini is guaranteed a second-round match against either 17-year-old wild card Iva Jovic or Julia Grabher, who is currently ranked outside the top 300. Daria Kasatkina would be Paolini's toughest opponent until the quarterfinals. Seems easy enough.
Statistically speaking, Danielle Collins and reigning champion Iga Swiatek have the second-easiest and third-easiest paths to the title, respectively.
Alycia Parks got the toughest draw of any player. Parks, the current world No. 61, starts the tournament against world No. 33 Anna Kalinskaya, the best of the unseeded players. That possibly would be Parks’s easiest match. The rest of her tournament trail likely would be against players ranked in the top 20.
Two-time major champion Victoria Azarenka statistically has the best draw among the unseeded players. She will face a qualifier in Round 1. If she can upset No. 9 seed Qinwen Zheng in Round 2, her next opponent will be ranked no better than No. 31.