The Eisenhower Cup is an exhibition that's traditionally held ahead of the Indian Wells, but it won't feature Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula this year.
The exhibition tournament is generally a very fast-paced event that features a lot of big names because it's held literally days ahead of the Indian Wells Open. All of the players who play at that event are physically present at the venue, and they could play some times on the courts where the event is going to be played, and help the charity as well.
They don't really get a chance to play mixed doubles with some of the best players in the world that often. The fact that the event is held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden is certainly a benefit because most of them can get a pretty good feel in a more competitive environment, as opposed to practices that don't feature the same amount of urgency.
Jessica Pegula and Elena Ryabkina both signed up for the event, but they actually won't play because they both withdrew from the exhibition. No reason was given for the withdrawal, and it's likely not that serious, mostly a precaution ahead of the WTA 1000 tournament.
The event will still feature WTA stars Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sakkari, Sloane Stephens, Emma Navarro, Paula Badosa, and Qinwen Zheng.
On the men's side, there will be Taylor Fritz, Hubert Hurkacz, Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Frances Tiafoe.
Each match is basically a first to 10 tie-break, with the matches being mixed doubles. The players are spread out into teams, and they'll battle each other for the trophy.
There are some pretty interesting combos among the players, with some lesser surprises. The pairing of Badosa and Tsitsipas is no surprise, and neither is Hubert Hurakacz and Iga Swiatek.
While Rybakina was replaced by Maria Sakkari alongside Andrey Rublev, Pegula's place will be taken by Sloane Stephens alongside Tommy Paul.
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