👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 It ain’t over yet!: This may be Diego Schwartzman’s last tournament, but he hasn’t played his last match just yet. In a battle that lasted just under three hours, El Peque defeated the number seven seed Nicolas Jarry before an overjoyed stadium of supporters. Perhaps nobody was more surprised than Schwartzman himself. Next up: Spain’s Pedro Martinez this afternoon.

🎾 The division tennis doesn’t need: It was probably just a matter of time before a singles player would chime in, siding with U.S. Open organizers on their mixed doubles reconfiguration while doubles players lament their exclusion. And that singles player is Taylor Fritz.

  • What he said: “A lot of doubles players will be upset about it but at the end of the day, the truth of the matter is that mixed doubles, as it was, isn’t adding that much to the Slams. It’s not creating a lot of excitement. They’re not filling up stadiums,” said Fritz.
  • What he’s missing: It is fun watching singles players enter mixed doubles. Yet, the dynamic between singles vs. doubles players is what makes it truly captivating.

🎾 DEI pressures hit Indian Wells: BNP Paribas, the Paris-based bank and title sponsor of the Indian Wells Open, has pulled back on events focused on women during the tournament next month, including rescinding invitations to speakers, The New York Times has reported. The change of heart appears to be DEI-related, according to the report. Some BNP Paribas staff members were told the bank wished to avoid attention for its efforts on the subject.

  • What they said: BNP spokeswoman Michelle Sprod confirmed the decision, citing planning and resource limitations: “We’ll do that next year.”
  • Why it matters: International Women’s Day, which falls during the tournament, is a significant part of the programming at Indian Wells.
  • What’s next: Some fear caving into policy changes could have other chilling effects on the sport, including rollback on equal prize money for men and women.