Can Serena Williams win her first Indian Wells title since 2001?
The world No.10-ranked American is the title favourite according to Game Insight Group (GIG) data. Williams has a 22.3 per cent chance of winning Indian Wells this year, ahead of world No.1 and defending champion Naomi Osaka at 15.7 per cent.
Williams is in a strong third quarter of the draw, headlined by fourth seed Sloane Stephens. It makes for a particularly tough draw for Stephens, but it won’t be easy for Williams either. The 37-year-old, who made the third round at Indian Wells last year in her tour-level return from maternity leave, faces a potential second-round meeting and 2016 final rematch with Victoria Azarenka.
QUIZ: Can you pick these player legs?
Women’s singles championship prediction (pre-tournament)
| Player | Title chance |
| Serena Williams | 22.3% |
| Naomi Osaka | 15.7% |
| Karolina Pliskova | 14.2% |
| Ash Barty | 11% |
| Petra Kvitova | 10.2% |
| Simona Halep | 9.6% |
| Elina Svitolina | 3.9% |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 2.1% |
| Kiki Bertens | 2% |
| Madison Keys | 2% |
| Player | Quarter | (- more difficult/+ easy) |
| Naomi Osaka | 1 | -0.5% |
| Petra Kvitova | 2 | +2.1% |
| Sloane Stephens | 3 | -5.5% |
| Simona Halep | 4 | +3.95% |
Twitter: Get the latest updates from Game Insight Group
The predictions are put together using Elo ratings, an alternative to more traditional rankings aimed at giving a greater insight into a player’s performance ability.
They factor in every professional match a player has played in their career, taking into account the level of the opponent, the difficulty of the match and whether it took place at tour level or at a Grand Slam.
When adjusted for specific surfaces, they still take into account all of a player’s matches but weigh those on the chosen surface more heavily.
23 February 2016
Tennis is a funny old game. People love you one minute and then want to drop you the next;... More
15 September 2016
The greatest champions, goes the old adage, are those who leave their sport better than th... More
19 February 2016
No tennis statistic is more emphasised but less understood than unforced errors (UEs). UEs... More
30 December 2019
Nick Kyrgios’ first-round win over Andrey Rublev at last year’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow ... More
© 2022 Tennis Australia