Davenport’s son Leach excited about his Indian Wells moment: ‘It feels surreal’ | ATP Tour

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Davenport’s son Leach excited about his Indian Wells moment: ‘It feels surreal’

University standout Leach reflects on favorite Indian Wells memories

March 2, 2026

Lindsay Davenport won the Indian Wells singles title in 1997 and 2000, long before her son Jagger Leach was born. Now, Leach has a chance to shine at the BNP Paribas Open.

The 18-year-old Stanford University freshman competed in his first ATP Tour qualifying event at the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season. It’s a fitting venue considering the California native has spent nearly every March of his life in Indian Wells, from his days spent with coach Madison Keys’ mother to playing in junior tournaments at the same location.

“My best memory is when I was seven years old, running around trying to find an open practice field with my dad,” Leach said of his father, former pro player Jonathan Leach. “When my mom coached Madison, we could go to the range and if she finished practice seven minutes early, my dad and I would jump on and hit the ball for those seven minutes, and then we’d walk around.

“If we see another pro finish 10 minutes before practice time ends, then we try to hit the ball during those 10 minutes and we’re just hunting around. It’s fun. I have great memories of that.”

Leach has photos from his pre-teen days at Indian Wells: on the field, with players dining with Case and around the field. The game was a big part of his childhood.

“When I was younger, I could go into the pros dugout and there was a Pop-A-Shot game,” Leach said. “I would hang out there, eat lunch, play Pop-A-Shot, and just be around. It was an incredible experience. I thought the dining there was really great.”

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The American climbed to No. 4 in the ITF junior rankings and is a junior qualifier for the ATP Next Generation Accelerator. But for now, Leach is focused on playing college tennis at Stanford University. The Cardinal defeated Duke in North Carolina on Sunday, and Leach flew to California for the biggest opportunity of his young tennis journey.

“This experience has been incredible. I love my teammates and coaches at Stanford. I love campus and campus life. Honestly, one of the most incredible things out of all of them is being a part of a team. It’s been the most incredible experience,” Leach said. “Usually in tennis, you’re on the court alone. When you go to tournaments and travel around, you may have friends and people you enjoy spending time with, but at the end of the day, they are your competition and no one is really cheering you on, supporting you and wanting you to succeed.

“I think one thing about being a part of a college team is that I have nine other players who really want me to succeed and push me every day to try to get better.”

Leach, a wild-card entry, will have plenty of local support when he takes on No. 14 seed Tomas Barrios Vera in the first round of qualifying on Monday night. The young American had spent his entire life playing high-level tennis, but this was different.

“It’s so cool. It’s been an incredible experience that I’m going to cherish and hopefully I can keep improving and I can get back to playing in these tournaments where it’s not that intimidating and I’m star-struck,” Leach said. “That’s the ultimate goal. But for now, it’s intimidating. It’s so cool. They look like superheroes. Sinner and Alcaraz, their tennis is just on a different planet. So thankfully I don’t have to worry about them in qualifying, but to be next to them, in the same locker room, knowing that I’m going to be playing in the same tournament, it feels surreal.

“To have the opportunity to play against one of them one day is unbelievable.”