The BNP Paribas Open announced its first three wild cards for the 2025 event, awarded to Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova as well as rising teenage ATP talents João Fonseca and Learner Tien.
Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon Champion (2011, 2014) and has reached as high as World No. 2 in her career that has spanned nearly two decades. Kvitova will make her 13th career appearance in the desert after a 15-month absence from competition following the birth of her first child. Kvitova has reached the quarterfinal in Indian Wells three times, including in her most recent appearance in 2023.
The tournament also announced its first two ATP main draw wild cards, awarded to rising teenage stars João Fonseca and Learner Tien. The 18-year-old Fonseca is fresh off winning his first ATP title at the 2025 Argentina Open, where he became the youngest Brazilian ATP title winner in the Open Era and the 10th-youngest titlist in Tour history. The 19-year-old Tien is a native of Irvine, California, and produced the biggest result of his young career to start the season when he reached the fourth round at the 2025 Australian Open. Tien’s run in Melbourne made him the youngest player since Rafael Nadal (2005) to reach the Australian Open second week. Fonseca and Tien met in last December’s 2024 Next Generation ATP Finals, where the Brazilian prevailed in the championship match.
The full list of 2025 wild cards will be announced closer to the start of the tournament.
*Venus Williams Wild Card Update (February 23, 2025)
Venus Williams was awarded a wild card, but has informed the tournament that she will not be competing at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open.
About the BNP Paribas Open
The BNP Paribas Open is the largest combined ATP Tour Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tennis event in the world, and one of the premier fixtures on tour having been named Tournament of the Year by both the WTA and the ATP Tour for a record-setting ten consecutive years. The 2025 BNP Paribas Open will be held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden March 2-16.
