BNP Paribas Open women's draw is out: These are the matchups we hope to see

The BNP Paribas Open women's draw was revealed Monday afternoon in front of a larger-than-normal crowd at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

As the names plunked into their spots, there were cheers and groans among the patrons as their favorite player's fate was revealed.

Here are the things that made me cheer and groan. My quick thoughts about the women's draw.

Four matchups we'd like to see

Iga Swiatek vs. Bianca Andreescu: The former BNP Paribas Open champions are on the polar opposite of the seed list with world No. 1 Swiatek as the top seed and the climbing-back-up-the-charts Andreescu as the No. 32 seed. They are in the same quadrant and would meet in the third round. It will be the ultimate test of how Andreescu's quest to return to top form is going, but at the same time, Swiatek won't have the edge of having already tasted victory at Indian Wells because Andreescu has done that, too.

BNP Paribas Open women's storylines: Is Iga Swiatek unbeatable? Could an American win?

Paula Badosa vs. Elena Rybakina: Two players who would be fantastic choices to win the event will meet early in the proceedings as the 10th-seeded Rybakina and 21st-seeded Badosa are in the same part of the draw. Rybakina, the reigning Wimbledon champion, is playing top-notch tennis, but Badosa, the 2021 BNP Paribas Open champ, has good memories on Stadium Court. This will be a heavyweight battle that feels more like a semifinal. Too bad it could come in the third round.

Coco Gauff vs. Amanda Anisimova: Two of the seeded American women are on a third-round collision course as Gauff, who is the No. 6 seed, and Anisimova, the No. 31 seed, would meet each other if they both escape their unranked opponents in their first match. They faced each other in the third round of Wimbledon in 2022 with Anisimova pulling out a three-set win. The draw gods want to see a rematch.

Caty McNally vs. Leylah Fernandez: McNally, who played at the Tennis Garden way back in her Easter Bowl days, is ready for a breakthrough and the tournament deemed her worthy of a wild-card entry. If she can get past fellow American Emma Navarro in the first round, she'll set up an intriguing second-round match against Canadian star Leylah Fernandez, who is the No. 30 seed at this year's event.

First-round star power

When the draw comes together, one thing I like to look for is the notable unseeded players. These stars will command eyeballs in their first-round match, and it's fun to predict who might grace Stadium Court those first two days before the seeded players begin play Friday. Here are a couple players who fit that category:

Emma Raducanu: The 2021 U.S. Open champion hasn't had much success since that glorious fortnight in New York, but she's back at it in the desert. She opens up against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro. Raducanu didn't end up in a horrible part of the draw, knowing that if you win your first match you will play a seeded player. She's lined up to play No. 20 Magda Linette of Poland in the second round.

Sloane Stephens vs. Sofia Kenin: Stephens and Kenin are former Grand Slam champions looking to regain their form. Stephens won the U.S. Open in 2017 and Kenin won the Australian Open in 2020. Both have been ranked in the top 5 but have now fallen out of the top 32. This matchup feels like a Stadium Court certainty. The Stephens-Kenin winner will face No. 10 Rybakina in the second round.

Katy Volynets vs. Shelby Rogers: Another American vs. American battle with the rising star Volynets going against the more established Rogers. Rogers had a nice run here last year making the third round and knocking off a top-10 player (Jelena Ostapenko) in the process. Volynets, given a wild card, has the game to be the next big thing in American tennis. She needs to win matches like this to get experience in big events. The winner faces Maria Sakkari in the second round.

If form holds

This is exceedingly rare, particularly in the women's field at the BNP Paribas Open, but if form holds and the top eight seeds make the quarterfinals, these will be the matchups. This sort of reveals if the draw unfolded "fairly" or not. As you probably know, it's not like a traditional bracket where the 1-seed would play the 8-seed and the 2-seed would play the 7-seed, etc. In tennis, the No. 1 seed could be lined up with any of the seeds between 5 and 8 to meet in the quarterfinals. It's random. Here are the matchups:

• No. 1 Iga Swiatek vs. No. 5 Caroline Garcia

• No. 4 Ons Jabeur vs. No. 8 Daria Kasatkina

• No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. No. 7 Maria Sakkari

• No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 6 Coco Gauff

Swiatek and Jabeur would meet in a hypothetical semifinal and Pegula would face Sabalenka.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@thedesertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: Four women's matchups at Indian Wells we hope to see