‘Spring break for adults’ – $208bn software mogul turned Indian Wells into paradise after tennis legends saved it

Californian sunshine will descend upon some of the biggest talents in tennis this weekend when the adored Indian Wells Open returns.

Officially named the BNP Paribas Open, it boasts the best spectator numbers outside of the four Grand Slams tournaments.

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A record attendance of 493,440 was achieved in 2024 and the immense popularity has many dubbing it as the ‘fifth Grand Slam’.

The Indian Wells Tennis Garden hosts the two weeks of action on an annual basis near the picturesque city of Palm Springs, California.

However, the ATP Masters 1000 event was once close to leaving the West Coast of the United States before tennis royalty intervened.

Founded by former players Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore in 1974, Indian Wells was first played in the Arizonan city of Tucson.

It subsequently moved to Rancho Mirage and then La Quinta in California before arriving at its namesake location in 1987.

The Indian Wells Tennis Garden opened in 2000 after a $77million construction effort, but the tournament faced financial struggles.

This included the bankruptcy of International Sport and Leisure [ISL], a sports marketing company who were formerly partnered with FIFA.

ISL had a contract with Pasarell and Moore’s PM Sports Management Co. and their partners International Management Group [IMG].

The 10-year deal would reportedly have given them a projected $110m but the 2001 insolvency left them with just $27.5m.

IMG were bought out by private equity firm Forstmann Little & Company in 2004 after founder Mark McCormack died unexpectedly.

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Theodore Forstmann became CEO and was keen to sell Indian Wells, with a reported $44m offer coming from Shanghai in China.

Qatari capital Doha then became an increasingly likely destination, but a group of investors halted a move outside of the US in 2006.

Tennis legends including Pete Sampras, Billie Jean King and Chris Evert bought 50 per cent of Indian Wells Tennis Garden from IMG.

Californian native Sampras won the tournament on two occasions beforehand alongside his 14 Grand Slam titles.

King and Evert were two of the greatest women’s players of all-time, with the duo sharing 30 singles Grand Slams between them.

Joining them in the deal was the city of Indian Wells, the United States Tennis Association and the Tennis Magazine publishing group.

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Pasarell and Moore retained their 50 per cent share, but the future of the Indian Wells Open received a huge boost just years later.

Larry Ellison co-founded the American software company Oracle Corporation in 1977 and was their CEO until 2014.

The businessman is the fourth-wealthiest person in the world with an astonishing estimated net worth of $207.7billion as per Forbes.

Ellison has a long-term love for tennis and in 2009, decided to buy the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and tournament for $100m.

Since then, he has invested around the same amount of money into the event to make it one of the best in the tennis calendar.

Their 16,100 capacity Stadium 1 is the world’s second-largest tennis specific stadium after the US Open’s Arthur Ashe Stadium on 23,771.

Indian Wells also has Stadium 2, an 8,000 capacity venue stemming from the site’s expansion following the 2013 tournament.

Additional seating has also been installed at the outer and practice courts alongside 54 acres worth of outdoor parking for spectators.

The Tennis Garden also has 29 courts on display and is open to fans throughout the year.

Thanks to Ellison, Indian Wells has continued to grow after it almost moved to an entirely different country nearly two decades ago.

“That first weekend of the tournament has become a de facto spring break for adults,” Craig Shapiro, filmmaker and host of The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast, said.

He is a frequent visitor when the tournament gets underway and was even spotted sitting near multi-billionaire Bill Gates in 2024.

Ellison could well be in attendance again for this year’s action, which starts on Sunday and promises to deliver high-quality tennis.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek will return as the reigning men’s and women’s champions respectively.

Novak Djokovic is also set to feature, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion a joint five-time Indian Wells winner with Roger Federer.

But Venus Williams will not be making an appearance at the Tennis Garden despite a wildcard offer.

“Our team has been informed that Venus is not accepting the wild card this year,” the event posted on X with a statement from tournament director Tommy Haas.

“We wish Venus all the best and hope to see her back in Indian Wells in the future.”

“I love Indian Wells, I would love to be there and if I could have accepted it, I would have been like, yes. But I already made commitments,” Williams said.

“Actually, I found the announcement super amusing because, I don’t know, people seem to be happy, so I was like, maybe I’ll just go with it,” the 49-time WTA champion added.

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“I don’t know I’m actually not going. I’m like, I’m gonna be, like, in overseas. I’m not gonna be here.

“I just had a player text me today too, like “can you play doubles?” I’m not playing. I found out about the wild card when you guys did. Just saying.”