GOLF & TENNIS > Featured - BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells

BNP Paribas Open putting the 'serve' in survival

Leighton Ginn • The Desert Sun • March 8, 2010

INDIAN WELLS — In 35 years, the BNP Paribas Open has grown from just another tournament among 30 on the men's ATP Tour to an integral part of tennis' worldwide landscape.

Andy Roddick blasts a serve during the 2009 BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The event begins its 35th year Monday, and is still going strong despite economic hurdles through the years. (Richard Lui, The Desert Sun)

Southern Cal has been a leader in tennis for many, many years and it continues to establish itself as that,” said tournament director Steve Simon. “I do think it brings tremendous value to the region. Without it, tennis would not be as popular and people don't get a chance to experience the sport and see how spectacular it can be. There is a big difference in watching in person from catching it on TV.

“Anytime you don't have the ability to touch and feel the product, or to see it first hand, then you don't attract the same ownership or propriety of that sport.”

However, Southern California nearly lost its largest tournament.

A major part of the evolution of the BNP Paribas Open came in 2000 with the opening of the $77 million Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the 55-acre facility that houses a 16,100-seat stadium that is the second largest tennis stadium in the world.

But from 2002-05, the tournament lost money and was nearly sold to Shanghai. Had the tournament accepted the offer, tennis would have had a major void.

“I think there would be a domino effect,” said Bob Kramer, the tournament director of the L.A. Open in July. “Talk about shock and awe if the fifth largest, most important, significant tournament goes away or falls apart. That's not a good headline. That's like tennis is dead again.”

For the tennis fans, had the BNP left, it would have meant the loss of a signature event that many plan their vacations around. The BNP Paribas Open's success has been based on its ability to attract nearly all the game's biggest stars, particularly Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in their only U.S. appearance west of the Mississippi. It is also one of the few events that have both the men and women playing in a 96-player draw in a resort city.

“The fallout would have been severe, especially among the hard core regional fans who look forward to going to that event year in and year out, and the fact that there isn't a lot of high-level alternatives for those fans to consume tennis throughout Southern California,” said David Carter, the executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute. “In Southern California, if you don't have a big-time sexy event that people look forward to attending — where they can expect to see A-caliber talent and have a great backdrop — you're in trouble.”

Tennis has two seasons in the United States. One is the summer hard court season that begins after Wimbledon and is a lead up to the U.S. Open. The USTA has tabbed that group of summer tournaments the U.S. Open Series that run from July until the U.S. Open begins in late August.

The other is the spring hard court season, with the major events being the BNP Paribas Open and the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., which take up the month of March.

On the professional tours, the spring hard court season fills in a large gap between the end of the Australian Open and the beginning of the European clay court season that leads up to the French Open.

“If you took out Indian Wells, Miami would get hurt. They would get isolated, It would just be one big tournament,” in the spring, said Raymond Moore, the president of the BNP Paribas Open. “It would just be one big tournament. Players will be like, ‘Why would I go to the U.S. for one tournament?' Now they come for the month of March. The month of March is big time tennis in the U.S.”

Indian Wells and Miami combine to draw more than 600,000 tennis fans the last few years. Tournament director Charlie Pasarell likes to point out that for college basketball to reach those numbers, it would have to sell out 40 games in 15,000-seat arenas.

Franklin Johnson, the former president of the United States Tennis Association, said major tournaments are crucial to the growth of the game.

“I think it's hard to know what drives people to play tennis, but I always believed that professional tennis turns people on to playing the game,” said Johnson, who is on the board of directors for the International Tennis Federation which governs the four majors and the Davis Cup. “Since the USTA and the (Southern California Tennis Association's) mission is to grow the game, losing it would have a detrimental effect. It seems like a lot of people get turned on what there is a major event and play more.”

Bill Kellogg, the president of the SCTA, also believes a tournament like the BNP Paribas Open is crucial to the development of American tennis players.

“For the health of the sport of tennis in this nation, it's very important to have rising American tennis stars,” Kellogg said. “It's a road block to our best players if it's difficult to obtain ATP points. If they have to end up having to go to Europe or the Far East or South America or Australia to get those points, it truly becomes one of those situations where the sport is only available to those who can afford to go all around the world chasing those points. And even at that, it's difficult to do.

“By having major tournaments in the United States, it really helps us keep the American tennis players on the scene. It enables them to obtain points without going overseas. Not just with the Indian Wells tournaments, but all the tournaments — the challengers and the whole rest of the pro circuit events.”

One example Pasarell always uses is how he gave a 16-year-old Pete Sampras a wildcard into qualifying for Indian Wells. Sampras was able to qualify and won two rounds in the main event. Sampras gained confidence that he could be successful on the pro tour. Two years later, Sampras won the U.S. Open for the first of his 14 major titles.

“To have the Indian Wells tournament in our back yard for kids coming up is priceless,” Kellogg said. “I think it's extremely important for Southern California that it succeeds and it stays there and continues to be Wimbledon West, or maybe I should say the U.S. Open West.”