Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic set for Indian Wells doubles after accepting wildcards

Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic are among several top singles players set to feature in the Indian Wells doubles tournament after accepting wildcards.

Five-time Indian Wells singles champion Djokovic has accepted a wildcard to play alongside Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, while Sinner will partner American Reilly Opelka.

The two have been placed in opposite halves of the draw, with Sinner and Opelka facing a tough opening round against top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who were runners-up in 2024.

Djokovic and Tsitsipas have also drawn difficult opponents: third seeds and defending champions Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.

Sinner and Opelka have previously played doubles together, with the pair winning Sinner’s only doubles title to date in Atlanta in 2021.

Djokovic claimed the last of his joint-record five Indian Wells titles in 2016, and has failed to make it beyond the quarter-finals since then, but arrives in the Californian desert off the back of a run to the Australian Open final in his most recent tournament.

He has not played ATP doubles since teaming up with Fernando Verdasco in Doha last February.

The doubles draw is headlined by regular pairings including the all-British second seeds and reigning Wimbledon champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, while Britain’s world No 1 Neal Skupski is seeded fourth alongside American Christian Harrison.

Several other top players who predominantly play singles have entered the doubles draw in Indian Wells, with the winning team set to split nearly $468,200.

Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will partner Frenchman Arthur Fils, the latter continuing his comeback from a recurring back injury which sidelined him for much of 2025.

Cousins Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot - who were responsible for one of the feelgood stories of the tennis tour last season as both made the final of the Shanghai Masters - will play together.

Two-time singles finalist Daniil Medvedev has teamed up with American youngster Learner Tien, who leads their singles head-to-head 3-1, including back-to-back wins over the Russian at the Australian Open in 2025 and 2026.

Tien said when the draw was announced: “I think his coach texted my coach last minute, maybe the day before the deadline. I said, 'Sure', I thought it would be fun and so I'm looking forward to it.

“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.”

Americans Emilio Nava and Ben Shelton have also received wildcards, while Felix Auger-Aliassime will play alongside another American, Sebastian Korda, and Russians Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev - the latter a doubles runner-up in 2021 - have teamed up.

Rublev and Medvedev were among those caught out by the outbreak of war in the Middle East; they were briefly stranded in Dubai where Medvedev won the ATP 500 title last week and Rublev reached the semi-finals.

The pair missed an exhibition tournament in California while they were stuck waiting for flights out of Dubai, but made it out in time to begin their singles campaigns on Friday.

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