Carlos Alcaraz's Title Hopes Potentially Damaged By Indian Wells Surface Change
News
The 2025 Indian Wells Open revealed that its court surface has changed for this year's edition, which could be bad news for the two-time defending ATP champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Although tournaments often change their surface providers, the news is particularly notable for the Indian Wells Open since it had used Plexipave for the 25 years of the legendary tournament in California.
The tournament organizers decided to switch to Laykold. That is the same surface used at the Miami Open, which begins a few days after the tournament in Indian Wells is completed, and the US Open.
Although it remains to be seen how the court will play, Laykold usually constructs medium-speed courts. That would contrast sharply with the last twenty years at the Indian Wells Open, which was known for being one of the slowest hard courts in the world.
The new surface might also be lower bouncing than in previous years. Players who like hitting with spin and getting on top of their shots have thrived in Indian Wells because of the courts being high-bouncing.
Alcaraz thrived in those conditions. The slow and high-bouncing conditions were not too dissimilar to a clay court, and last year's French Open champion loved competing with that advantage on her side.
It will be interesting to see how the court change impacts Alcaraz. After his superb success in the last two years, the Spaniard almost certainly would have preferred the court to stay the same.
Regardless of the changes compared to other years in Indian Wells, the Laykold court will not play exactly the same as the Miami Open or the US Open because of the weather conditions at the tournament, which are different from most other events.
Daniil Medvedev will undoubtedly be thrilled by the old surface being replaced. He was repeatedly critical of how slow it used to be, most infamously during an extraordinary meltdown against Alexander Zverev in 2023.
Despite his disdain for the conditions, Medvedev was still the runner-up to Alcaraz at last year's Indian Wells Open. He spoke afterward about what a great achievement that was for him since it felt like a clay court on a hard court.
The tournament organizers might have made the decision after complaints about the tennis balls used on the ATP Tour. Medvedev criticized how swiftly they became slow after a match at the 2024 ATP Finals.
Taylor Fritz also slammed the balls used at the 2025 Australian Open as the deadest he has ever played with. Concerns about the rallies becoming overly long on a slow court with slow balls might have influenced the Indian Wells Open's move to change the surface.
The different surface does not change Alcaraz's position as the pre-tournament favorite. Jannik Sinner's inability to play due to his three-month suspension at the event has made the Spaniard the undisputed favorite for the title.
However, Novak Djokovic's chances should never be ruled out. The Serbian seems fit despite being videoed limping to the airport after the 2025 Qatar Open, and he will have Andy Murray as his coach.
