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The BNP Paribas Open doesn’t have the gravitas of one of the four tennis Grand Slams, but it’s the closest among the ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournaments.
The event, known colloquially as Indian Wells because it’s hosted in the Southern California city, started Wednesday and runs until March 16. It comes with a record purse of about $19 million, up 7% from last year, and a first prize of $1.2 million for each singles champion.
Like the Grand Slam tournaments, prize money for the men and women is the same. The WTA announced in 2023 that it aims to attain equal prize money for all WTA 1000 and 500 combined events by 2027.
Suspended Superstar
Looming over the tournament is the absence of men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who received a three-month suspension in February after testing positive for doping last year. Sinner’s punishment was much less than the two-year ban he could have faced—and the timing meant he wouldn’t miss a single Grand Slam.
The Sunshine Double—which combines Indian Wells and the Miami Open later this month—comprises the two big tournaments that Sinner will miss.
The 23-year-old, who has won three of the last five Grand Slams, was eliminated in the semifinals at Indian Wells for the last two years by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. Speaking to reporters Tuesday at Indian Wells, Alcaraz said nothing has changed despite the absence of Sinner.
“Jannik’s not playing, but there are a lot of the best players in the world [who] are playing here,” Alcaraz said. “For me, coming here to approach the tournament, it doesn’t change at all. I’m just focused on my things, on myself, and I try to play good tennis here.”
Security for Raducanu
Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, is competing at Indian Wells after she faced a stalker at the Dubai Tennis Championships last month. Raducanu said Tuesday she was “distraught” during her second-round match with Karolína Muchová in Dubai and that she “couldn’t see the ball through tears.”
The man, who was removed from the arena and detained by Dubai police, had reportedly approached Raducanu multiple times before the match and was even present in other tennis tournaments of the 22-year-old in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Doha in recent weeks.
BBC and Sky Sports reported last week that Raducanu will have extra security at Indian Wells.
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