INDIAN WELLS, Calif.(AP) The Indian Wells tournament, which annually draws most of the world's top men and women tennis players, has new financial backing and a new name.
Formerly the Pacific Life Open, the event now will be the BNP Paribas Open, with the title sponsor a France-based bank that's one of the largest in the world. BNP Paribas has long-standing sponsorship ties to tennis, including the French Open, Davis Cup and Federation Cup.
The new name will be used for the tournament on March 9-22 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The attendance for the two-week event last year was 330,000, ranking it behind only the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Organizers of the Indian Wells tournament also announced that equal purses of $4.5 million each will be offered to the men and women for the first time.
The event began in 1976 and first included both men's and women's fields 20 years ago.