Indian Wells Open facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Indian Wells Open |
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| Location | Tucson, Arizona (1974–75) Rancho Mirage, California (1976–80) La Quinta, California (1981–86) Indian Wells, California (1987–current) |
| Place held | Indian Wells Tennis Garden |
| Court type | Hard (Plexipave) – outdoors |
| Website | bnpparibasopen.com |
| Current champions (2024) | |
| Men's singles |  Carlos Alcaraz |
| Women's singles |  Iga Świątek |
| Men's doubles |  Wesley Koolhof Nikola Mektić |
| Women's doubles |  Hsieh Su-wei Elise Mertens |
The Indian Wells Open is a big professional tennis tournament held every year in Indian Wells, California, United States. It takes place outdoors on hardcourts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in March. This tournament is a major event for both men's tennis (part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000) and women's tennis (part of the WTA 1000).
It's one of the most popular tennis tournaments outside of the four biggest ones, called Grand Slam tournaments. In 2024, over 493,000 people watched the event! Because it's so popular, some people even call it the "fifth Grand Slam." The main stadium at Indian Wells Tennis Garden is the second-largest permanent tennis stadium in the world, right after the US Open's Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
The Indian Wells Open is the top tennis tournament in the western United States. It's also the second-largest tennis event in all of the United States and the Americas, only smaller than the US Open. This tournament is the first part of something called the "Sunshine Double." This means two big hardcourt tournaments happen one after another in the U.S. in early spring, with the Miami Open being the second one.
From 1974 to 1976, it was a special event not part of a tour. Then, from 1977 to 1989, it was part of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour. In both the men's and women's singles main draws, 96 players compete. The top 32 players get a "bye," which means they automatically move to the second round without playing the first.
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Where is the Tournament Held?
Indian Wells is located in the Coachella Valley, which is near Palm Springs. It's about 125 miles (200 km) east of downtown Los Angeles.
The tournament is played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, which was built in 2000. This huge facility has 29 tennis courts! Its main stadium can hold 16,100 people, making it the second largest tennis-specific stadium in the world. After the 2013 tournament, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden got even bigger. They added a new Stadium 2 with 8,000 seats. They also changed the court color to a special "Pro Purple." This color was chosen because it's the exact opposite of the yellow tennis ball on the color wheel, making the ball easier to see.
Tournament History
The Indian Wells Open was started by former tennis players Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore. Over the years, it has had different names and many companies have sponsored it. Since 2009, a French banking group called BNP Paribas has been the main sponsor, so it's often called the BNP Paribas Open.
At first, the women's tournament happened a week before the men's event. But in 1996, it became one of the few tournaments where both men's and women's events happen at the same time. This makes it a truly combined event on both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tours.
The Indian Wells Open has grown into one of the biggest events in tennis. In 2004, the tournament expanded to last multiple weeks and include 96 players. Winning both the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open in the same year is known as the "Sunshine Double." With over 450,000 visitors in 2015, it's the most-attended tennis tournament in the world, besides the four Grand Slams.
In 2009, Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and a big tennis fan, bought the tournament and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
In March 2020, the tournament had to be postponed and later canceled. This was done to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The Williams Sisters and Indian Wells
For many years, famous tennis players Venus and Serena Williams chose not to play in the Indian Wells tournament. This lasted from 2001 to 2014.
In 2001, Venus had to pull out of a semifinal match against Serena because of an injury. When Serena came out to play the final, some people in the crowd booed her. They continued to boo her during the match and even cheered when she made mistakes. Serena won the tournament, but the booing continued during the awards ceremony. Later, the Williams sisters' father, Richard Williams, said that he and Venus had experienced very upsetting comments from some fans in the stands.
The tournament director, Charlie Pasarell, said he was very disappointed by the crowd's behavior, calling it "unfair."
After a phone call from Larry Ellison, Serena Williams decided to return to Indian Wells in 2015, ending her 14-year absence. Her sister, Venus Williams, also returned to compete the following year.
Notable Champions
Many great tennis players have won titles at the Indian Wells Open. Here are some of the players who have won the most singles titles:
- Men's Singles:
- Roger Federer (Switzerland) has won 5 titles.
- Novak Djokovic (Serbia) has also won 5 titles.
- Jimmy Connors (USA) and Michael Chang (USA) each won 3 titles.
- Rafael Nadal (Spain) has won 3 titles.
- Women's Singles:
- Many players have won 2 titles, including Martina Navratilova (USA), Steffi Graf (Germany), Lindsay Davenport (USA), Serena Williams (USA), Kim Clijsters (Belgium), Maria Sharapova (Russia), Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), and Iga Świątek (Poland).
- Lindsay Davenport has reached the most finals in women's singles, with 6 appearances.
Sunshine Double
Miami Open (tennis)
See also
In Spanish: Masters de Indian Wells para niños
ATP Tour
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WTA Tour
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