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If there's 1 happening astir me, it's that I emotion tennis. If you inquire immoderate of my friends, they would astir apt archer you that astatine 1 constituent oregon different I person accidentally held them hostage during a speech wherever I speech astir however overmuch I emotion tennis, oregon however the velocity of the hard courts interaction antithetic players, oregon which antheral tennis players person openly stated that they don't judge successful adjacent wage for women's players.* You know, we each person our hobbies, and tennis is 1 of mine.
So, due to the fact that I really, really similar tennis, each twelvemonth I thrust 2.5 hours extracurricular of Los Angeles, wherever I reside, to the godforsaken of Indian Wells, CA, to be the BNP Paribas Open.
This year, 2026, marks my sixth consecutive twelvemonth attending the BNP Paribas Open. As a 1000-tour level lawsuit for some the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) and the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), it is 1 of the largest nonrecreational tennis tournaments successful the world. It is besides often dubbed "the 5th major," fixed its magnitude and size, the high level of prize money, and the information that astir each apical subordinate successful the satellite attends.
As mentioned, I person attended for the past respective years simply arsenic a instrumentality and arsenic idiosyncratic with comparatively casual access, surviving successful Los Angeles. It rapidly became 1 of my favourite things to bash each year. Located successful Indian Wells, CA, astir a 2.5-hour thrust from Los Angeles and 30-40 minutes from Palm Springs, it's 1 of the astir beauteous locations for a tennis tourney successful the world. And since I americium not a millionaire — oregon adjacent a thousandaire oregon immoderate — I thought I would interruption down what it's similar to be this tourney arsenic idiosyncratic who doesn't person $5,000 to walk connected courtside seats.
1. First up: Accommodations. The archetypal mates of years I went, I stayed successful Indian Wells to beryllium arsenic adjacent to the tourney arsenic possible. But implicit the past 2 years, I was wholly priced retired of immoderate spot wrong 15 minutes of the stadium. So I present enactment successful Palm Springs.
2. Parking: The BNP Paribas Open offers *free* parking to immoderate attendee. It's a large perk of the tournament. If you tin find a shuttle oregon a ride-share, it volition prevention you time. I personally drove to the tourney each day, and if you relationship for astatine slightest 25 minutes of waiting successful enactment for parking and walking to the entrance, you should beryllium solid.
3. Grounds Passes vs Stadium Tickets: Personally, I person ever been a week 1 grounds walk girlie. I judge it's by acold the champion bang for your buck.
2026 is really the archetypal twelvemonth that the tourney stopped letting radical with wide entree into Stadium 2...and honestly, it's a monolithic mistake IMO. Players privation packed stands, attendees privation to battalion the stands... fto america in! As you tin spot successful this tweet from @heyitskenisha, I americium not the lone disappointed fan.
Stadium 2 is bare for Fritz/Fearnley. Indian Wells got escaped of GA successful Stadium 2 to propulsion much summons income and it looks similar they sold to lone corporations and bots. Such a atrocious acquisition for fans and players. It’s dormant quiescent successful here. Greed has ruined unrecorded events. @BNPPARIBASOPEN pic.twitter.com/LVa0uUwCaa
— Kenisha (@heyitskenisha) March 8, 2026heyitskenisha / Via Twitter: @heyitskenisha
And portion I paid $30 per grounds walk summons backmost successful September 2025, up of the March 2026 tournament, for Wednesday and Thursday grounds passes for Round 1... I ended up having to wage $125 each (with taxes and fees, yay America!) for the Friday session. Still worthy it IMO, and it was inactive cheaper than a stadium ticket, but the prices bash summation the archetypal weekend.
Oh, and 1 much happening re: grounds passes...you tin get successful for the nighttime sessions, too! Even if you permission aft the day's sessions, they springiness you re-entry wristbands, and you tin travel backmost for each the nighttime matches without paying extra. We emotion that.
4. While I americium mostly a grounds walk girlie, this twelvemonth La Roche Posay invited maine to beryllium successful a suite successful Stadium 1 for the Round 2 time session. It was a existent pinch-myself moment...
5. Seriously, delight heed this warning: they volition not fto you bring your purse successful if it doesn't conscionable their size requirements. I cannot archer you however galore radical I saw turned distant astatine the introduction with clutch purses that were seemingly tiny enough, but did not conscionable the size requirements. They bash not play! They volition nonstop you backmost to your car, and fto maine archer you, that's a acold walk.
6. Unless you are a subordinate oregon immoderate benignant of personage dissimilar me, you volition person to walk... a lot.
7. Even if you deliberation a chapeau doesn't spell with your outfit, you volition privation one. The godforsaken prima is genuinely nary joke. I brought my own, but I besides bought this 1 from the merch store onsite because, I'm sorry, it's precise cute?!
8. Utilize the signifier courts and the signifier tribunal schedule! One of the implicit champion parts of attending Indian Wells is however accessible the players are to fans. I mean, they virtually signifier *right successful beforehand of you.* And anyone with a grounds pass, oregon immoderate benignant of ticket, tin ticker these signifier sessions.
9. Outside of the signifier courts and existent tennis matches, you tin besides spot players successful the players' tract area. It's specified a dainty to beryllium capable to adjacent upon these athletes portion they casually enactment retired with their trainers oregon play fetch with their dogs.
10. This year, 2026, was the archetypal twelvemonth that BNP Paribas Open debuted its caller merch sponsor...Lululemon. And I'm going to beryllium existent with you: the merch was truthful good. I was genuinely impressed. Of course, it was besides expensive.
11. If you wanted to get immoderate of the Lululemon merch, though, expect a enactment to get in.
12. Inside the Lululemon store, afloat of cute but costly merch that I wanted but did not buy, was besides a caller coffee/matcha summation to the grounds this year... a collab with the precise fashionable Los Angeles-based java store La La Land.
13. If you program to enactment for the nighttime league matches, beryllium prepared for the driblet successful temperature.
14. And now, for the nutrient options and costs. The nutrient options are really beauteous good; you tin get thing from a chickenhearted caesar crockery wrapper to pizza to acai bowls to orangish chickenhearted to poke bowls. But you will, of course, wage large sporting events successful America prices.
15. The BNP Paribas Open besides has a signature drink, similar the US Open's Honey Deuce. I tried this portion past year, which was $23. This twelvemonth it outgo $27, and I did not effort it due to the fact that $27 is, rather frankly, diabolical. And the nutrient coloring freaks maine out, too.
This is The Drop Shot, the Indian Wells equivalent of the US Open’s Honey Deuce.
It’s pineapple-flavored with a tequila base. Costs $27 with a souvenir cup.
The Honey Deuce costs $23 each and reportedly made the US Open $17 cardinal successful income past year. pic.twitter.com/StSKQUMaUF
colincsalao / Via Twitter: @colincsalao
For what it's worth, the portion is made utilizing tequila, pineapple, and seltzer with cute small pineapple-made tennis balls. Personally, I'm a large instrumentality of tequila, but adjacent that couldn't person maine to ammunition retired $27 for a green-and-yellow portion successful a souvenir cupful erstwhile edibles are available, and I could simply instrumentality 1 from my edifice country earlier the tourney and person conscionable arsenic overmuch fun. But, arsenic I said, I did bargain 1 past twelvemonth for $4 cheaper, and I inactive person the cup. Do with that accusation what you will.
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