Indian Wells Open
They call it the 'fifth Grand Slam.' The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden draws nearly half a million spectators across two weeks each March, more than any tennis tournament in the world except the four majors. Its stadium holds 16,100 people — the second largest permanent tennis facility on earth, behind Arthur Ashe at Flushing Meadows. By almost every measure, Indian Wells is what its supporters claim. It is also the tournament that Venus and Serena Williams refused to enter for fourteen consecutive years, from 2002 to 2015, because of what happened here.
The 2001 Incident
At the 2001 tournament, Venus Williams withdrew from her semifinal against her sister Serena with what officials described as a knee injury — a withdrawal that drew boos from an Indian Wells crowd that suspected the match had been arranged. When Serena played in the final, she and her father Richard Williams were subjected to racial slurs from spectators. Richard Williams said fans used slurs and that one person threatened to 'skin him alive.' Venus and Serena chose not to return. Their boycott lasted until 2015, when Serena came back at the personal invitation of Larry Ellison, the technology billionaire who had purchased the tournament in 2009. She wept on the court. The crowd gave her a standing ovation.
How Indian Wells Became What It Is
The tournament was founded by Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore, who built the Indian Wells Tennis Garden specifically to host a major event in the desert. The venue's climate — warm, almost always sunny, and calm in late winter when the rest of the tennis calendar is coping with cold — made it an appealing destination for players and spectators alike. BNP Paribas took over naming rights in 2009, the same year Ellison purchased the tournament and began investing heavily in the facility's expansion and prize money. The 'Pro Purple' court color, distinctive to Indian Wells, is not used anywhere else on the tour. Mixed doubles was added to the draw in 2024.
The Fifth Grand Slam
The Indian Wells Open's 493,440 attendance figure from 2024 places it in a category of its own among non-major tennis events. The combination of stadium capacity, tournament duration, and venue accessibility from the Los Angeles area creates conditions for attendance that most tournaments — even those with strong historical prestige — cannot replicate. The desert setting has also allowed the tournament to develop ancillary programming, food, and lifestyle elements that distinguish it from an ordinary tennis competition. Players regularly list Indian Wells among their preferred tournaments, citing the conditions, the organization, and the concentrated audience energy of a stadium that size.
From the Air
Indian Wells Tennis Garden is located at approximately 33.72°N, 116.31°W in Indian Wells, California, in the central Coachella Valley. The tennis complex is visible from the air as a large, distinctive facility with multiple courts and the prominent main stadium structure. The Santa Rosa Mountains form the southern backdrop, and the valley floor is at approximately 100 feet above sea level at this location. Palm Springs International Airport (KPSP) is approximately 7 miles to the northwest and handles the heavy traffic of tournament spectators each March. General aviation can use Bermuda Dunes Airport (UDD), approximately 5 miles east.