Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and Ben Shelton headline unprecedented Indian Wells men’s doubles draw

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6 March 2026 at 09:39

Tennis fans have never seen the likes of the recently released 2026 Indian Wells, BNP Paribas Open, men’s doubles draw.

For years, the women’s doubles draws at major tournaments have featured the top ranked singles players teaming together in fun and sometimes unexpected duos. Some of these doubles teams achieved huge success, with the most recent example being the team of Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff who were French Open finalists and Miami Open champions.

The men have finally caught on, and this year’s Indian Wells men’s doubles tournament will create some exciting moments.

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Who is in the Indian Wells men’s doubles draw?

Tournament officials at the BNP Paribas Open have to be pinching themselves because Jannik Sinner is partnering with American Reilly Opelka.

Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 Doubles draw pic.twitter.com/EPvSCFiV9R
— Tennis Draws (@DrawsTennis) March 6, 2026

Avid tennis fans will know that the two won the 2021 Atlanta Open together, and in recent years, Opelka has criticized singles players playing doubles and tournaments having doubles at all. The #WatchMoreDoubles movement arose as a result of the Opelka comments.

Novak Djokovic is partnering with Stefanos Tsitsipas who already is out of singles. If anyone can use a career boost, it is Tsitsipas, and we hope this team goes far.

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Ben Shelton is partnering with fellow American Emilio Nava who he teased incessantly for his Australian Open loss to Cam Norrie that yielded 65 winners and 80 unforced errors.

Mar 3, 2026; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Ben Shelton (USA) speaks to the media at a news conference during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Other teams to keep an eye on are Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev and Learner Tien, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Sebastian Korda, and Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe, and Acapulco Open doubles champions Alexander Zverev and Marcelo Melo.

There are 32 teams in the Indian Wells men’s doubles draw, and play begins on Sunday, March 8. We will find out how good the Sinner and Opelka team is quickly as their first match is against the top seeded team of Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zelballos. Zeballos won the Indian Wells men’s doubles title in 2019 with Nikola Mektic.