Indian Wells Open raises the prize money pool to move closer to the $20 Million mark

The 'fifth Grand Slam' of tennis will take place in the Californian desert from the first week of March.

Indian Wells Open raises the prize money pool to move closer to the $20 Million mark

Indian Wells Open trophy (image via IMAGO)

The 2024 Indian Wells Open is nearly a fortnight away and the buzz around it is just not coming down. It will be the first Masters-1000 event of the season on the ATP Tour. As for the WTA Tour, it will be the third after the Qatar Open and the Dubai Championships.

This year’s edition will be the 50th for men’s and the 35th for the women’s. It is one of the rare tournaments apart from the Grand Slams to offer equal prize money for both men and women. They started following this back in 2012 and have continued to do so ever since.

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Called the ‘tennis paradise’ and the ‘fifth Grand Slam’ of tennis, the tournament is highly prestigious. Only the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open is bigger in capacity than the center court at Indian Wells for permanent tennis stadiums in the world.

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As has been their trend to increase prize money every year, the same has been followed this year as well. The tournament offered a total prize money pool of $17.6 million in 2023. They have increased it by $1.4 million this year to make the number $19 million for the 2024 edition.

This is one of the highest prize money on offer throughout the season except for the Grand Slam events. The 2023 edition’s singles winners Carlos Alcaraz (men’s singles) and Elena Rybakina (women’s singles) each took a cheque of $1.2 million last year.

Tournament organizers have taken great pride in their offering of the prize money. 

Each year, we evaluate every aspect of our event, from prize money to scheduling to amenities and facilities, to ensure a top-tier experience for players and fans. This year, we are proud to be dedicating record prize money and are highly focused on compensating all of the players competing in the BNP Paribas Open.
Said Steve Christian, COO of the tournament.

Major scheduling changes to be implemented at the Indian Wells this year

The 2024 Indian Wells Open will be played from 6th March to 17th March. The qualifying rounds will commence on the 3rd of March before the main-draw which starts on the 6th. The increase in the amount for this year’s champions is yet to be announced as round-wise break-up is not yet declared.

Indian Wells Open
Indian Wells Open (image via IMAGO)

In a major change, all eight singles quarter-finals will be played on a single day. 14th March has been decided as the day for the quarter-final clashes. This will present the visiting fans with a great opportunity to see the big games all together.

On 15th March, the tournament has planned the semi-finals for women’s singles and finals for men’s doubles. The following day, on 16th March, the men’s singles semis and the finals of women’s doubles will be played out.

The tournament will conclude on the 17th of March with the women’s singles finals preceding the men’s singles finals. A new format to overcome the scheduling conflicts has been attempted. It will however remain a question of how successful it is which will be known only in the coming days.

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