The 2020 BNP Paribas Open returns to Indian Wells Tennis Garden for another year of dramatic professional tennis action. Known as the “Fifth Grand Slam” in tennis circles, the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament positions the sport’s global spotlight on Indian Wells each March for two weeks of fast-paced Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) play.
This year’s tournament will run March 9-22 and includes the return of “Rafa & Friends” vying for the second annual Eisenhower Cup, a one-night only Tie Break Tens event.
Notable players from around the world will compete for the tournament’s top prize in Singles and Doubles, including established and rising stars such as Rafael Nadal, Caroline Wozniaki, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Dominic Thiem, and Venus and Serena Williams. This is the largest two-week combined ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier professional tennis tournament in the world, and one of the most popular destinations for tennis fans from around the globe to attend.
The tournament is a Masters 1000 event on the men’s tour and is a Premier Mandatory event on the women’s tour. Between 1974 and 1976 it was non-tour event and between 1977 and 1986 it was a secondary tournament of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour but in 1987 it was upgraded to be part of the Grand Prix Super Series, the series of nine tournaments just below the four majors and the year-end finals in importance.
It took the place of the Philadelphia Indoor event as the first Super Series event of the year. The event is one of two tour events (along with the Miami Open), other than the Majors, in which main draw play extends beyond eight days. The women’s main draw usually starts on Wednesday and the men’s main draw starts on Thursday. Both finals are held on Sunday of the following week. Both singles main draws include 96 players in a 128-player grid, with the 32 seeded players getting a bye (a free pass) to the second round.
