Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner accept Indian Wells doubles wildcards
Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner have boosted the star power at Indian Wells by accepting wildcards to compete in the men’s doubles draw.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will pair up with Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Californian desert.
Sinner, meanwhile, is set to reunite with big-serving American Reilly Opelka.
Both marquee pairings have been handed formidable challenges in their respective opening rounds.
Grand Slam champions handed difficult draws
Djokovic and Tsitsipas have been pitted against the defending champions and third seeds, Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.
It marks the Serbian’s first ATP doubles appearance since playing alongside Fernando Verdasco in Doha last February.
Sinner and Opelka, who have been placed in the opposite half of the draw, must navigate past top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
The duo have success as a partnership, having previously captured the title in Atlanta in 2021.
While Djokovic has lifted the singles trophy at Indian Wells a joint-record five times, he has not ventured past the quarter-finals since 2016.
British contenders and unusual alliances
The doubles field features strong British interest, led by reigning Wimbledon champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.
Neal Skupski, ranked world number one in the discipline, is seeded fourth alongside American partner Christian Harrison.
Elsewhere, two-time singles finalist Daniil Medvedev has formed a surprise partnership with American youngster Learner Tien.
Tien holds a shock 3-1 head-to-head singles record over the Russian, including victories at the Australian Open in 2025 and 2026.
It was kind of random, because I don’t think he plays that much doubles and neither do I, so I think we’ll just go out and have fun.
Learner Tien on partnering Daniil Medvedev
Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina teams up with Arthur Fils, with the Frenchman continuing his return from a recurring back injury.
The winning team in California is set to share a prize pot of nearly $468,200 (£370,000).
