Editor's Note: This preview was published prior to Serena Williams' withdrawal from the tournament. Click here for the draw, and here for full tournament coverage.

What’s the state of the WTA as the tour arrives in Indian Wells? Much as it has been for most of this decade: Serena Williams is No. 1 and coming off another major title, and the rest of the women are trying their best to catch up. Williams is the top seed this week; we’ll see if anyone can make any gains on her while she tries to win this event for the first time since 2001.

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The next question for Serena is how motivated she’ll be for this title. On the one hand, it’s not a Slam; on the other hand, she didn’t come back to Indian Wells after 14 years away not to win it at some point. She wanted it badly enough last year that she got tight in the final, which she lost to Victoria Azarenka.

This year Serena won’t have to deal with Azarenka. Instead, she could play Monica Puig in her opener, and either Elina Svitolina—who beat her at the Olympics last summer—or Garbiñe Muguruza, who beat her in the French Open final last spring, in the quarters. Not a breeze, but manageable.

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Also in this section: An unseeded Belinda Bencic

First-round match to watch: CiCi Bellis vs. Kirsten Flipkens. The winner plays Muguruza.

Semifinalist: S. Williams

The most recent woman to gain on Serena—or at least throw her wristband in the Grand Slam title ring—is Karolina Pliskova. The Czech beat Williams to reach the U.S. Open final in 2016, and already in 2017 she has won two titles and moved up to No. 3 in the world. Pliskova is talking about winning majors, but perhaps the next step is a big event like Indian Wells. She likes hard courts, and she reached the semis here in 2016 before losing to Azarenka in three sets. Another semifinal run could give us a rematch with Serena.

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Also in this section: Carolina Wozniacki, Johanna Konta, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Karolina’s twin sister, Kristyna. They could meet in the third round.

Semifinalist: Ka. Pliskova

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No. 4 seed Simona Halep is flying well under the radar at the moment, and for good reason: She lost in the first round at the Australian Open and has a 2-2 record for the year. She also withdrew from her most recent event, in St. Petersburg, with a persistent knee injury. If Halep is physically ready, though, Indian Wells could be the place for a turnaround. She won the title here in 2015, and she has a tolerable draw to the semis. The first seed she could face is No. 28 Kristina Mladenovic.

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Also in this section: No. 5 Dominika Cibulkova and No. 9 Madison Keys, who is making her 2017 debut.

Semifinalist: Halep

If you’re wondering where the rest of the WTA’s big names have gone, don’t worry: They’ve landed in the draw’s fourth and final quarter. Here we have No. 2 seed Angelique Kerber, No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska, Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and Aussie Open semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe.

The first question to ask is whether Kerber is ready to push the reset button on her season. She showed some positive signs two weeks ago in Dubai, where she reached the semifinals. And despite losing in the first round last year, the slow hard courts at Indian Wells should help her.

Also in this section: Aussie Open breakout player Jennifer Brady. She starts against fellow American Shelby Rogers.

Possible third-round match to watch: V. Williams vs. Vandeweghe; it would be a rematch of their three-set Melbourne semifinal.

Semifinal: Kerber

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Semifinals: S. Williams d. Pliskova; Kerber d. Halep

Final: S. Williams d. Kerber

Indian Wells Women's Preview: With Serena out, the draw is wide open

Indian Wells Women's Preview: With Serena out, the draw is wide open

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