Relive the windiest Indian Wells final between Ana Ivanovic and Vera Zvonareva

The California desert presents unique conditions in the best of times, but neither Ivanovic nor Zvonareva were prepared for the blustery winds that threatened to derail their 2009 final.

ByDavid Kane

Published Mar 01, 2023

FLASHBACK: Indian Wells' unique conditions threatened to derail eventual champ Paula Badosa in 2021.

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The Sunshine Double presents one of the most unique challenges on the tennis calendar, and only 11 players have managed to weather all that Indian Wells and Miami has to offer in order to win both tournaments in the same season.

In the midst of her 37-match winning streak, Iga Swiatek became the latest to do so in 2022, navigating breezy conditions to defeat Maria Sakkari. But those winds couldn’t begin to compare to what Vera Zvonareva and Ana Ivanovic endured back in 2009, competing in winds so blustery that it defied the sport’s traditional geometry.

The most notorious example came early in the second set: down a set but up a break, former world No. 1 Ivanovic negotiated an often-unreliable ball toss to kick a serve in.

To Zvonareva’s dismay, the wind took care of the rest:

The Indian Wells wind is just one of the tournament’s more puzzling dynamics: the court tends to play slow, but the light balls fly through the dry desert air. Conditions are also heavier at night, the likes of which flummoxed nearly flummoxed Paula Badosa when she took on Coco Gauff under the lights in 2021.

“Today was tough,” explained the eventual champion. “But it was more mentally, adapting to the conditions. It was a very windy day. At the beginning I didn't have it clear at all.”

Luckily, changeable conditions are likely the biggest inconvenience players will encounter within the walls of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, which famously caters to their every need under the generous reign of owner and CEO Larry Ellison.

Who will emerge out of the gate most ready to hit through the wind in Indian Wells in 2023?