Indian Wells Masters

The Indian Wells Masters is also known as the BNP Paribas Open and the WTA Indian Wells Open. It is the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season and the first WTA 1000 event of the calendar. The Indian Wells Masters 2024 is the 50th edition of the men’s event and the 35th edition of the women’s event. It is a prestigious tournament that sees participation from all capable players.

The tournament is played on hardcourt and is one of two tour events along with the Miami Open other than the Grand Slams, in which main draw play extends beyond eight days. The Indian Wells Masters has the second-largest permanent tennis stadium in the world after the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

History

The women’s tournament was held a week before the ATP event at the start. However, in 1996, the championship became one of the few fully combined events on both the ATP and WTA tour. The tournament grew to become one of the largest events on the tennis calendar. In 2004, the tournament expanded to a multi-week 96-player field.

Since then, the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open have been colloquially known as the Sunshine Double. Also known as the ‘Grand Slam of the West’, the BNP Paribas Open is the most-attended tennis tournament in the world outside the four Grand Slams. It recorded over 450,000 visitors during the 2015 edition.

The 1000 event is held in Indian Wells, California, giving the name to the tournament. The 2023 event created just as much buzz as the rest of the Indian Wells Masters and saw Carlos Alcaraz lift the title for the first time in his career.

Indian Wells Masters 2024 schedule

The 2024 version of the first Sunshine Doubles will be played from March 3 to March 17. The first few days will hold the qualifying rounds of the championship, while the main draws will begin on March 9th. The tournament will end on March 18th with the men’s finals.

Is Novak Djokovic playing in the 2024 Indian Wells Masters?

The 24-time grand slam champion has not participated in the Indian Wells Masters since 2020. The tournament was not held in 2020 due to Covid-19. When it returned to tour in 2021, the Djoker could not participate as he did not take the vaccine and hence could not enter the country. A similar situation would take place in 2022 and 2023, which saw him absent from the tournament.

Novak Djokovic will finally return to the tournament this year, and his presence was confirmed earlier this year. It became a reality as he shared a flight with none other than Rafael Nadal, who will also play in the 1000 tournament.

Where to watch the 2024 Indian Wells Masters?

The 2024 Indian Wells Masters can be viewed by various means. Tennis Channel will stream the tournament as usual. Fans can also stream it on the all-new Official 2024 BNP Paribas Open mobile app and tune in to the Tennis Channel. Along with them, Tennis TV and WTA TV will also stream the tournament on their platforms.

Records

The most successful players of the Indian Wells Masters have been Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, with 5 titles each. However, the Swiss maestro has reached 9 finals – most by any player. Meanwhile, Djokovic has recorded the highest winning percentage of 84.75%. The two have also claimed the most consecutive singles titles in 2013, 2014, and 2015.