San Diego’s Haley Giavara grew up just 115 miles from Tennis Paradise – the Indian Wells Tennis Garden – but amazingly has never stepped foot on the hallowed grounds that are home to tennis’ fifth major and where in just a week’s time fans will converge to watch the world’s best compete.

No visits for Giavara to the BNP Paribas Open in March as a young fan to watch her favorite players like Venus and Serena, Sloane Stephens or Maria Sakkari. Even as one of SoCal’s top juniors headed to on a full-ride scholarship, Giavara never played the ITF Easter Bowl at Indian Wells. She never even entered an assortment of USTA Southern California events played at the Garden as a highly regarded junior.

So Giavara will have to keep from pinching herself when she finally does enter player dining and the fitness center and stretches alongside the WTAs best on the neatly manicured soccer fields next to the practice courts and in the shadows of the monstrous stadium court.

By winning the seven-event SoCal Pro Series last summer, Giavara earned a coveted wild card into the WTA 1000 qualifying event to be played next Sunday through Tuesday, March 3-5.

“I always just had something going on like a junior tournament, or I was in college,” said the 23-year-old Giavara. “I’ve never gone and to be my first time as a player is pretty cool.

“I’ve heard so many great things about it. It’s just I have no idea what it will be like or what it even looks like. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

For Giavara, who grew in the Tierrasanta suburb of San Diego and now resides in Chula Vista with her parents, playing the BNP Paribas Open will be the biggest moment of her tennis career. Her previous biggest moment came just 10 days ago in her hometown tournament the Cymbiotika San Diego Open WTA 500 where she also received a wild card falling in the first round.

Giavara is coming off a solid eight-week stretch of tournaments in 2023, took 10 days off to visit family back east, and then got right back in the saddle and made the finals at the Arcadia W35 in doubles to put her at a career-high of No. 305 in the world.

“I want to keep playing both [singles and doubles], but my doubles ranking is a little higher than singles,” said Giavara, who is at No. 429 in singles. “It’s definitely my goal to play both singles and doubles in a Grand Slam this year.”

Giavara graduated last May from UC Berkeley with a double major of Sociology and Legal Studies. She had the option to use a fifth year of eligibility because of Covid but chose to leave school instead and turn pro saying she is “really happy with that decision” even though she admits that “not winning NCAAs will always haunt me a little.”

Giavara ended her career at Cal as a 2023 Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year and was also awarded the San Diego District Tennis Association Female Player of the Year.

“There’s a reason a fifth year didn’t exist before,” Giavara said. “I talk to most girls who stayed who say they are having fun, but they are tired. My computer is only used for Netflix and shopping these days.”

Giavara said moving out of her parents’ house is definitely on her to-do list but likes the comfort of staying in her own room after long weeks on the road during her rookie pro season.

With the observance of Black History Month coming to a close, Giavara said the African American heritage on her mother’s side [her father’s grandparents are from Romania] is something she is very proud of and thinks about a lot.

“There are so many bad ass African American women right now, in tennis and just in general like acting and politics and science,” Giavara said. “It’s just really cool to see and I’m just trying to be a part of it, slowly but surely. Just seeing someone like Coco [Gauff] who has been able to do so much at such a young age is really crazy.”

Giavara, who is coached by her uncle Ken Giavara, said meeting her idol Billie Jean King at a play in La Jolla last summer was something she will never forget. “It was so surreal, and then seeing her at my favorite all-time tournament at Hardcourt Nationals was awesome,” she said.

She is planning on heading back to Barnes Tennis Center this weekend to watch the WTA 500 she was a part of and will no doubt be inspired by the “high level of tennis right in my own backyard.”

“It’s an exciting time for me right now for sure,” Giavara said. “To play in the two biggest tournaments [in Southern California] and for it to happen this early in my career is great. It’s my first time doing it and I don’t expect it to be my last.”