Wed Mar 05 23:10:00 UTC 2025: ## Linette Faces Stearns in First Round of Indian Wells
**Indian Wells, CA** – Polish tennis player Magda Linette will face American Peyton Stearns in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells on Wednesday, March 8th, at 9:30 PM local time (21:30 CET). This will be the first meeting between the two players.
Linette enters the tournament with mixed results in recent weeks. After early exits in Brisbane, the Australian Open, and Dubai, she reached the second round in Hobart and Mérida. She showed better form in other Middle Eastern tournaments, reaching the third round in Doha and the quarterfinals in Abu Dhabi. The 33-year-old, currently ranked 36th in the WTA rankings, will face the challenge of the 23-year-old Stearns, ranked eight places below her. Stearns, however, has demonstrated impressive form recently, notably eliminating Ons Jabeur and Qinwen Zheng in Dubai.
The match, scheduled for the second most important court, is expected to be a closely fought contest. Linette will be looking to upset the home crowd favorite and continue her progress in the tournament. Live updates will be available throughout the match.
First Piper 