World No. 1 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells this week, citing a left knee injury.
As the top seed in the draw, Serena was set to play either Monica Puig or American qualifier Danielle Collins in her opening match. Serena's withdrawal opens up her half of the draw, which includes an unseeded Belinda Bencic, Garbine Muguruza, a streaking Elina Svitolina and young American CiCi Bellis. With Serena's withdraw, World No. 3 Karolina Pliskova moves into Serena's spot and No. 5-seed Dominika Cibulkova moves into Pliskova’s spot. Main draw play begins on Wednesday, and updated draws can be found here.