This article is part of our Tennis Picks series.
Second-round play continues Saturday on the hard courts of Indian Wells, California. All the seeds in action Saturday will be seeing their first action of the tournament, as they had first-round byes. A slumping American women's seed will try to get back on track, while a couple of favored men with underwhelming performance histories at Indian Wells are on upset alert.
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All men's and women's singles matches at Indian Wells are best of three sets. A mix of players' previous hard court results, recent form and stylistic matchups can help pinpoint intriguing betting opportunities, both among favorites likely to cruise to victory and underdogs ready to pull off upsets. The aforementioned underdogs are highlighted in the Upset Alert section, the Lock It In section covers players who can safely be viewed as overwhelming favorites, while the Value Bets section recommends enticing options in matchups that are considered closer to toss-ups.
Indian Wells Open Tennis Picks: Upset Alert
Alexander Shevchenko (+382) vs. Casper Ruud
Ruud has been mediocre at Indian Wells over the years, with just a 7-5 record here in his career. His current form also leaves a lot to be desired, as the world No. 13 is 1-3 in his last four matches, including a loss to 142nd-ranked Yibing Wu in Ruud's most recent match. The 88th-ranked Shevchenko plays his best tennis on hard courts, as more than two-thirds of his ATP Tour wins have come on this surface, where he sports a .463 career win rate compared to a .391 combined mark on clay and grass. Shevchenko got acclimated to the conditions here with a three-set first-round win over Sho Shimabukuro, while Ruud will be stepping onto the match court at Indian Wells for the first time in a year.
Juan Manuel Cerundolo (+179) vs. Arthur Rinderknech
Cerundolo outlasted Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the opening round, and if Francisco Cerundolo's younger brother can replicate his level from that match, that will likely be enough to get by the 26th-seeded Rinderknech. The favored Frenchman plays his best tennis indoors, where he can calibrate his impressive serve without hindrance from the elements, and his ranking is supported mostly by a fluky run to the final at the Shanghai Masters late last year. Rinderknech is 0-3 in his career at Indian Wells and hasn't posted a winning record in a calendar year since 2022. The 24-year-old Cerundolo's current ranking of No. 70 is a career high, suggesting he's still ascending, while the 30-year-old Rinderknech is much more likely to go down than up from here.
Honorable Mention
Gabriel Diallo (+209) vs. Andrey Rublev
Indian Wells Open Tennis Odds: Lock It In
Alexander Bublik (-388) vs. Vit Kopriva
Bublik has raised his floor tremendously over the past year, seemingly increasing his commitment to the game and seeing much consistent results in the process. The world No. 10 is off to a 12-4 start in 2026, with all four losses coming against top-25 opponents. The 62nd-ranked Kopriva may not be capable of producing top-25 tennis, as the 28-year-old Czech has never been ranked inside the top 60 in his career. Bublik's ability to get free points off his serve will likely be the difference in this one, as the 152-pound Kopriva will have to work much harder to win his service games.
Maria Sakkari (-208) vs. Lilli Tagger
Sakkari has played some of her best tennis here over the years. She has an 18-7 career record at Indian Wells and reached the final in both 2022 and 2024, in addition to being a semifinalist in 2023. Her level has dropped off in the past two years, but the former world No. 3 seems to be enjoying a resurgence, as she notched top-10 wins over Jasmine Paolini and Iga Swiatek en route to the semifinals of Doha last month. That run bumped Sakakri back up into the seeded range for this tournament. The 119th-ranked Tagger has only recently worked her way up to top-level tournaments on the WTA Tour, and the 18-year-old Austrian has three losses to players ranked outside the top 100 this year. This will be Tagger's first career match against a top-50 opponent.
Honorable Mention
Taylor Fritz (-450) vs. Jacob Fearnley
Indian Wells Open Tennis Predictions: Value Bets
Karen Khachanov (+111) vs. Joao Fonseca
Fonseca has one of the brightest futures on the ATP Tour, but the hype train needs to slow down a bit in the present considering the 19-year-old prodigy is off to a 2-3 start in 2026 despite having faced only opponents ranked outside the top 70. Injuries contributed to that slow start, and Fonseca says he's healthy now, but raising his level enough to beat the 16th-ranked Khachanov will still be a tall order. Khachanov's almost always a tough out, as he has reached at least the third round in 11 of 14 Grand Slam or Masters 1000 events since the start of 2025. Fonseca certainly has the game to pull this one out, but Khachanov should be favored in this matchup at the moment.
Emma Navarro (-101) vs. Sonay Kartal
Navarro seems to have been figured out a bit by the rest of the WTA Tour over the past year following her breakout in the preceding year. The former world No. 8 is off to a 4-7 start this year and has dropped to 25th in the rankings, but she should still be able to get through opponents of the 54th-ranked Kartal's ilk, especially on home soil for the American Navarro. Neither player generates much power, but Navarro has a clear edge in athleticism, which should render Kartal's frequent drop shots less effective than they are against most of the WTA Tour. A lot of Navarro's recent struggles have come from being overpowered by bigger hitters, which shouldn't be an issue in this particular matchup.
Honorable Mention
Alex Michelsen (-108) vs. Ugo Humbert
