The BNP Paribas Open gets underway this week from Indian Wells, California, and American women are well represented there despite the absence of the Williams sisters. Read about the roads ahead for the most notable among them, which were revealed after the women’s draw appeared on Monday afternoon.

Sloane Stephens

The highest-ranked American player in the draw, Stephens received a first-round bye and the 17th seed. On paper, she would have the best chance to advance deep into the draw. However, Stephens will have to perform at a higher level than her last two outings when she was bumped in the first round at Doha and Dubai. Although she tends to play her best tennis at higher level tournaments, the Florida native will need a focused effort as Ana Ivanovic and Angelique Kerber likely stand in her path. Stephens has yet to notch a career victory against either player. World No. 4 and defending champion Maria Sharapova is the highest-seeded player in this portion of the draw, although she upset Sharapova in Cincinnati last summer.

Madison Keys and Christina McHale

Keys and McHale have been placed in the same portion of the draw, where success would pit the Americans against each other in a potential third-round battle. McHale enters Indian Wells with a wave of momentum following her run to the final at Acapulco, where she pushed top seed Dominika Cibulkova to three sets before falling. She appears to have found more power and durability following an intense off-season training regimen. This showed during a trio of three-set matches down the stretch in Mexico. Meanwhile, Keys has struggled this year, except for the event in Sydney where she downed Simona Halep before falling to Angelique Kerber in the semifinals.

McHale faces a qualifier before a potential rematch against Kaia Kanepi, who fell to the American last week in Acapulco. Meanwhile, Keys faces a dangerous Tsvetana Pironkova to open, with the victor facing the 13th-seeded Roberta Vinci. Interestingly, McHale and Keys have never faced each other, but there is potential for one of these young Americans to advance to the round of 16 if they are at the top of their respective games.

Alison Riske

Riske has yet to build off 2013 momentum this season. She has felt some bumps in the road, advancing no further than a lone quarterfinal appearance in Hobart thus far. The Pittsburgh native will have her work cut out with former No. 1 and 2011 Indian Wells champion Caroline Wozniacki awaiting her in the second round. However, Riske will start with a tough test against Bojana Jovanovski, a competitor with a comparable ranking. The unseeded American will likely face only seeded players if she advances past her first-round match. This would presumably be a feat too daunting for a deep run at Indian Wells.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands

An American to observe early in the tournament is Mattek-Sands, whose early draw sets up nicely. She will be a favorite to defeat Carolina Garcia in the opening round, which could set up a meeting with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round. The 29-year-old veteran has won both hard-court meetings against the Russian, who is seeded 21st in this event. With success in this portion of the draw, Mattek-Sands could see a struggling Sabine Lisicki, who has yet to win more than one match in a tournament in 2014. The door could be open for a surprising run for the American.

Varvara Lepchenko

The world No. 51 will meet a qualifier in the opening round before a potential match with two-time Indian Wells champion Daniela Hantuchova. These two have met just once, a three-setter in the 2012 Australian Open that went to the Slovak. While neither woman has played up to her potential in early 2014, a big question mark lies with Hantuchova, who has been nursing a knee injury that forced her withdrawal in Acapulco last week. The victor could face another player battling through injury early this year in world No. 4 Victoria Azarenka.

Victoria Duval

Duval has yet to build off success at the 2013 U. S. Open, where she stunned Samantha Stosur. Playing ITF events and qualifying draws of late, Duval will take a wildcard entry into Indian Wells. She will face Alisa Kleybanova, whose ranking is comparable to Duval, in the first round. With a win, she would face rising star Garbine Muguruza. Any victories in this field would be a success for the young American, who has struggled to gain traction since New York.

Lauren Davis

The up-and-coming youngster will face a qualifier in the opening round with a date against Victoria Azarenka looming. The world No. 4 has been nursing an injury and has not played since the Australian Open. However, if Azarenka is at full strength, it is unlikely that Davis could make any inroads against her at this stage of her career. Nonetheless, the American could use this tournament to springboard her momentum forward in 2014, building on her steady rise up the rankings.

Other long shot Americans in the field include Vania King, Coco Vandeweghe, Taylor Townsend and Shelby Rogers. Madison Brengle and Allie Kiick have reached the second round of qualifying as they bettle for a spot in the main draw at the BNP Paribas Open.