Are you ready for the blockbuster showdown at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden? The qualifying rounds are already up and running in this mega tennis event, and the main draw events will take place from March 5 to March 16. This tournament is regarded as one of the best-attended tennis tournaments outside the four major tournaments, and hence it’s often called the ‘Fifth Grand Slam’. It’s the 51st edition of the men’s event and the 36th of the women’s event this time. The main draw for the Indian Wells Masters will be held on March 3 (Monday) at 3 pm local time. So, in just a few hours, we’ll get to know who’ll face whom, but where can the fans watch this mega tennis event live?

Stars Galore at the Golden State! Some of the biggest stars in the tennis world have already arrived at the venue, and now it’s time for them to set the floor on fire with their incredible tennis show. Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz are the defending champions here and they’ll be desperate to retain their crown.

Apart from them on the men’s side, we’ll see Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, and several others in action. On the women’s side, we’ve Aryna Sabalenka, who’ll be aiming to clinch her first Indian Wells single title. Watch out for the 2025 AO champion, Madison Keys, who’ll be playing her fierce game even since her mega triumph in Melbourne. Keep your eyes on Coco Gauff, too!

Who are the biggest names missing out this year? Well, the world number one, Jannik Sinner, will be the biggest miss this year, as he is currently serving a three-month ban for the doping case. On the women’s side, the reigning Wimbledon champion, Barbora Krejcikova, has withdrawn from this iconic tournament this year.

What is the total prize money at the 2025 Indian Wells, though? Well, the total prize money for this year is set to be $19,387,080. It’s almost an increase of around 7.76% from last year. Along with the hefty prize money, the champions will also grab 1000 points at this tournament. So, there is a lot at stake at the moment. The tensions will be high, and so will the decibels, but where can fans watch this action-packed show live while sitting on the couch with a bowl full of popcorn?

Where can I watch the Indian Wells?

Here is the list of broadcasters for the 2025 Indian Wells Masters:

• Africa: Canal+Africa, Supersport Africa.
• Asia: Unext (Japan), Youkou (China).
• Southeast Asia: beIN Southeast Asia.
• India subcontinent: Sony/MSM.
• Australia/Oceania: beIN SPORTS Australia, Digicel.
• Europe: Eurosport France (France), Polsat (Poland), Sky Deutschland (Germany), Sky Italia (Italy), Sky UK (UK), SportKlub (Serbia), SRG (Switzerland), Telefonica/Movistar (Spain), Ziggo Sport (Netherlands).
• Middle East: beIN SPORTS Middle East.
• North America: Tennis Channel (USA), TSN (Canada).
• South America, Central America, and The Caribbean: ESPN International Latam.

The Tennis Channel will begin its broadcast schedule on Tuesday, March 4, at 7 pm local time. There will be live coverage of The Eisenhower Cup (a mixed doubles exhibition Tie Break Tens event featuring multiple ATP and WTA stars). Live coverage of the main tournament will start on March 5 (Wednesday). Who will be the commentators for the Tennis Channel this time? Well, as per reports, the Tennis Channel broadcast talent will include Andy Roddick, Tracy Austin, Paul Annacone, Jim Courier, Lindsay Davenport, Coco Vandeweghe, Sam Querrey, Prakash Amritraj, Jason Goodall, Steve Weissman, Chanda Rubin, and a few others.

All the fans in the US can also stream live coverage of every court from Indian Wells on the Tennis Channel App. This will be the first time that the users of the app will have access to the traditional Tennis Channel television network on the platform at no additional charge. Apart from that, there is also a new monthly option that allows the fans to stream these matches live and on-demand for $9.99 per month. What are the other new things or changes that we’re going to see in this year’s ‘Fifth Grand Slam’ event?

Indian Wells changes their surface provider after almost 25 years

This year, the tournament organizers have decided to make a switch from Plexipave to Laykold. Interestingly, Laykold is the same one that is used in Miami and also at the US Open. It usually provides a quicker hard court surface. Traditionally, at the Indian Wells, we have always seen much slower and higher bounce conditions. Now, with the introduction of Laykold, we can expect a faster and lower bounce.

Speaking on this new partnership, the BNP Paribas Open Chief Marketing Officer, Philippe Dore, said, “Laykold’s commitment to court precision and consistency aligns perfectly with the BNP Paribas Open’s mission to provide an exceptional playing surface for players.” This change can help players like Daniil Medvedev, Aryna Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina as they’ve excellent records of performing at their best level on faster courts.

On the other hand, this can put the defending champions Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz into a bit of trouble. Both these players excel at slower surfaces, so it’ll be interesting to see how quickly they adjust to this change. Alcaraz had already said, “I’m really looking forward to going to Indian Wells already; it’s a place I love to play and love to be at.” He’ll be aiming for his third successive Indian Wells title this time. Do you think he can win this tournament this year as well?