2026 BNP Paribas Open Tennis Sets Records In Attendance, Prize Money, TV Viewership

Picture credit score: Rob Stone/@RobStoneTennis

Tennis Paradise was the middle of tennis universe this month.

The 2026 BNP Paribas Open, which climaxed with a dramatic championship weekend that noticed Aryna Sabalenka save a championship level and beat Elena Rybakina within the girls’s remaining earlier than Jannik Sinner defeated Daniil Medvedev within the males’s remaining, stories a record-setting occasion.

Greater than a half-million followers attended the 2026 BNP Paribas Open.

Complete attendance throughout the fortnight was 527,626, a brand new BNP Paribas Open match file. This marks the second consecutive yr that the match has eclipsed 500,000 followers and stays the one ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 occasion to have surpassed a half-million followers two years in a row.

The center weekend (Friday, March 6 by means of Sunday, March 8) noticed 176,264 followers on-site on the occasion, a brand new weekend attendance file. Saturday, March 7 set a brand new single-day attendance file of 60,781.

Listed below are some 2026 Indian Wells info and figures from the BNP Paribas Open Media Workers:

Largest-Ever Complete Match Purse As Complete Participant Payout Surpasses $20 MillionThe 2026 BNP Paribas Open paid greater than $20 million in complete prize cash throughout all competitions, the biggest within the historical past of the occasion and the biggest for any ATP Masters 1000 or WTA 1000 stage occasion. This elevated purse was headlined by the prize cash enhance for the 2026 BNP Paribas Open Combined Doubles Invitational, which featured a $1 million purse and expanded 16-team attract its third ever iteration. The entire purse additionally included the $200,000 payout awarded as a part of the 2026 Eisenhower Cup, a one-night Tie Break Tens occasion gained by Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina. 336 gamers from 55 completely different international locations competed within the 2026 BNP Paribas Open throughout the eight completely different attracts (Males’s and Girls’s Singles, Doubles, and Qualifying; Combined Doubles Invitational, and The Eisenhower Cup). Most-Watched Match Ever on Tennis ChannelThe 2026 BNP Paribas Open was the most-watched match in Tennis Channel historical past. Viewership of the occasion elevated 39 p.c from 2025, whereas dwell match protection and TC Reside noticed a rise of 57 p.c from the earlier yr. Digital Viewers Surges to 1.3 Million Social Followers, 2.7 Million Web site Customers and 338,000 App UsersThe BNP Paribas Open is probably the most adopted ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 match on social media throughout key platforms, with 1.3 million complete followers. The occasion’s official social channels have seen appreciable progress lately. In 2026, social views surpassed 225 million and generated 10.1 million interactions, a 39 p.c enhance over 2025, whereas its follower base grew from 1 million in 2025 to 1.3 million, representing 24 p.c year-over-year progress. The match additionally attracted 2.7 million customers to its official web site and 338,000 customers on its official occasion cellular app, additional increasing its world digital attain. Merchandise, Meals & Beverage Gross sales Attain New HeightsMerchandise gross sales on the match elevated 36 p.c in 2026, breaking the file set the yr prior in 2025. In partnership with Legends World, progress included a 14 p.c rise in common transactional worth, a 25 p.c enhance in merchandise per cap, and a 9 p.c progress in seize fee, all surpassing earlier data set in 2025. The over-sized tennis ball was the shop’s finest vendor, with over 4,000 offered throughout the occasion. The retail expertise on the 2026 BNP Paribas Open additionally featured the debut of lululemon because the match’s Official Clothes shop. The world class meals and beverage program on the Indian Wells Tennis Backyard, curated by Sodexo Reside!, stays a spotlight side of the general Tennis Paradise fan expertise. The Indian Wells Tennis Backyard served followers at greater than 40 eateries on-site, together with 4 sit-down eating places. 2026 marked the fifth consecutive yr of file meals and beverage gross sales in the course of the match, growing 20 p.c over 2025 with a 7 p.c enhance in buy per capita. The Champions Volunteer Basis Deepens Philanthropic Affect of Tennis ParadiseThe Champions Volunteer Basis, the charitable arm of the BNP Paribas Open, continued to develop its influence throughout the Coachella Valley in 2026. Whereas greater than 1,400 volunteers supported varied points of the occasion, the Basis’s broader mission stays rooted in giving again to the neighborhood. In 2025, the BNP Paribas Open donated $750,000 to the Champions Volunteer Basis to assist native charitable organizations all through the Coachella Valley. As well as, the Basis’s Silent Public sale on the 2026 match raised greater than $50,000, additional contributing to its ongoing philanthropic efforts.