Shelton, Navarro among American hopefuls in 2024 Indian Wells singles draw

More than 30 Americans will compete across the men's and women's singles draws at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open. The prestigious Indian Wells event begins on Wednesday, but Ben Shelton and Emma Navarro have already lifted a trophy in the desert.

The young Americans teamed up to win an exhibition doubles event on Tuesday evening, winning $200,000 for charity by beating out other star-studded pairs including Taylor Fritz and Aryna Sabalenka, Frances Tiafoe and Zheng Qinwen, and Americans Tommy Paul and Sloane Stephens.

“As soon as I saw that I was paired up with her and saw the tear she’s been on lately, I knew that we had a pretty good chance tonight," Shelton said.

Navarro enters Indian Wells with a career-high WTA ranking of world No. 23 and a singles record of 15-5 this season. The 22-year-old New York City native won her first tour-level title in January in Hobart and has reached two additional semifinals in San Diego and Auckland. Those results have Navarro feeling fine in Tennis Paradise.

“There’s a different feel here and it’s just really special,” she said of the WTA 1000 event.

Set to compete in Indian Wells for the third time, Navarro is bidding to advance beyond the second round for the first time. Her No. 23 seed gives her a head start in that regard, earning her a first-round bye before she'll face American qualifier Liv Hovde or Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko.

Williams, who has been out of action since the US Open due to a knee injury, will mark her return with an opening-round matchup against Japan's Nao Hibino on Wednesday night. Veronika Kudermetova, the 17th seed, awaits the winner in the second round.

The 43-year-old Williams has reached the quarterfinals or better six times in Indian Wells, including in each of her last three appearances from 2017-19.

Another notable first-round matchup will see American qualifiers Robin Montgomery and Hailey Baptiste square off for the right to meet Keys in the second round. Pegula, in her second-round match, could face wild card and 2016 US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova.

On the men's side, the 16th-seeded Shelton—competing in the desert for the second time—is one of five American seeds. The former Florida Gator is currently the No. 2-ranked U.S. man behind 2022 Indian Wells champ Taylor Fritz, who is seeded 12th this year.