Nikoloz Basilashvili has been unable to continue his momentum after reaching the Indian Wells final.
Basilashvili achieved his career-high ranking of world number 16 in 2019, and has won five ATP titles in his career.
After winning titles in Doha and Munich in 2021, Basilashvili climbed back up the rankings to become the 29th seed at Indian Wells that year.
Despite having climbed back into the top 30, Basilashvili had lost 11 of his last 13 matches at Masters 1000 tournaments heading into Indian Wells in 2021, and no-one was expecting what was about to happen next.
Nikoloz Basilashvili made history for his country at Indian Wells in 2021
Basilashvili had lost all three of his previous matches at Indian Wells heading into the 2021 tournament, which was moved to October due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This changed after Basilashvili won his opening match against Chris Eubanks, and he reached the fourth round after coming from a set down to beat Albert Ramos Vinolas.
Basilashvili would then beat three seeded players in consecutive fashion, highlighted by his victory over second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Following his victory over Californian Taylor Fritz, Basilashvili became the first player from Georgia to reach a Masters 1000 final since they became an independent nation.
He would play another first-time Masters finalist in the championship match in Cameron Norrie, and Basilashvili actually found himself one set away from the title.
However, Norrie fought back to beat Basilashvili 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, to win the Indian Wells title.
| Indian Wells 2021 | Nikoloz Basilashvili’s Result |
| First Round | Received a bye as the 29th seed |
| Second Round | Beat Chris Eubanks, 6-4 6-3 |
| Third Round | Beat Albert Ramos Vinolas, 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2 |
| Fourth Round | Beat Karen Khachanov (24), 6-4 7-6(6) |
| Quarterfinal | Beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (2), 6-4 2-6 6-4 |
| Semifinal | Beat Taylor Fritz (31), 7-6(5) 6-3 |
| Final | Beaten by Cameron Norrie (21), 3-6 6-4 6-1 |
Following his breakthrough run to the Indian Wells final, Basilashvili would return to the top 20 in 2022, but he has faced many struggles since then.
Since finishing as runner-up at Indian Wells, Basilashvili has only won 24 of his last 71 matches on the ATP Tour.
This has seen him suffer a dramatic drop down the rankings, with Basilashvili even falling outside the top 1000 in 2024.
Basilashvili has been able to make strides back up the rankings since then, and even returned to the top 100 last year, but still finds himself a long way from the player he once was as the current world number 133.
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What happened to Nikoloz Basilashvili at Indian Wells in 2026?
Basilashvili has made three appearances at Indian Wells since his run to the final in 2021, and they have been in line with his general results.
The Georgian has not won one main draw match at Indian Wells since 2021, with Basilashvili only reaching the third round in 2022 after receiving a bye and a walkover.
This is where Basilashvili would play Norrie in a rematch of the 2021 final, with the Briton once again coming out on top.
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Basilashvili managed to qualify for the main draw of Indian Wells last year, but he failed to do so again in 2026.
After winning his opening qualifying match, Basilashvili was beaten by Australian Christopher O’Connell.
Basilashvili will now only play in the main draw of Indian Wells this year if withdrawals enable lucky losers to replace them.
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