Sunday, October 17, 2021 - Paula Badosa and Victoria Azarenka play in the women's final match at Stadium 1 on day 14 of the 2021 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, CA. (Michael Cummo/BNP Paribas Open)
The BNP Paribas Open will make its second return after a two-and-a-half year pandemic hiatus with qualifying matches kicking off on Monday, March 7 and finals on Sunday, March 20.
Athletes, enthusiasts and celebrities will flock to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, located 15 miles southeast of Palm Springs, for the 2022 BNP Paribas Open; the tournament reconvened for the first time since the pandemic in October of 2021, a first-of-its-kind fall event, after seeing a record-breaking 475,000-person attendance at the 2019 tournament.
BNP Paribas Open leaders are thrilled to see the tournament return after a long two-and-a-half years.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome everyone back to Tennis Paradise this March!” Philippe Dore, the tournament’s Marketing and Media Director, told Desert Magazine.
“Tennis Paradise” was a moniker given to the tournament for its unique sense of ambiance. While the champions of the sport clash on the courts, the mountainous backdrop behind Indian Wells and idyllic beauty unique to the Southern California way of life creates a one-of-a-kind atmosphere.
Outside of the WTA 1000, ATP World Tour Masters 100 and the four Grand Slams, the BNP Paribas Open is the largest two-week combined tennis event. It was named Tournament of the Year more than any other event by players on the ATP and WTA Tours, every year from 2014 to 2019 and again in 2021.
The Indian Wells Tennis Garden would have celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020, had tournaments occurred; since its opening, the garden has welcomed over 6.7 million fans to watch some of the sport’s most esteemed and most unexpected players lock horns on the court. Those champions of the past have included Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, two top tennis contenders who are tied for the tournament record with five wins apiece. At last October’s fall open, Paula Badosa of Spain snagged the women’s title over Victoria Azarenka, and British Cameron Norrie claimed his first Masters 1000 win. Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia fell to Norrie.
For nearly the entire month of March, top players will fill the garden’s 29 world-class courts, with fans filling 24,000 total stadium seats. During the tournament, spectators will also enjoy daily live entertainment, nearly 40 luxury dining establishments—including Wolfgang Puck’s Spago and James Beard’s Nobu—and top-of-the-line retail shopping.
Celebrity cameos are often spotted among the crowds at the BNP Paribas Open. Recent years have seen visits from Bill Gates, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Dore said that this year’s open will welcome leading players from across the globe.
“We are looking forward to a fantastic two weeks of tennis, with the best players in the world set to compete at the beautiful Indian Wells Tennis Garden,” Dore said. “There is nothing like springtime tennis in the desert, and we can’t wait to see all of our fantastic fans, partners and volunteers back in Tennis Paradise.”
Tickets and packages to the tournament come in a variety of interest and inclusion levels. Series Packages for attending the entire tournament are available for the biggest tennis enthusiasts, while Mini Packages for evening matches or a few consecutive days are available as well. Single Session tickets are also available.
BNP Paribas Open
March 7-20
Indian Wells Tennis Garden
bnpparibasopen.com
