My Trip To Indian Wells

Last weekend, my family and I traveled to watch the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, CA. The BNP Paribas Open, is the largest two-week combined event outside of the four Grand Slams. It is also the most-attended WTA 1000 and ATP Tour Masters tennis tournament in the world. Just by being there, you could see why it was called Tennis Paradise. The weather was nice, for it never reached more than eighty degrees, and it balanced it out during the evening with a soft desert breeze. However, I have to say that all the tennis was definitely my favorite part. My family had an amazing time and I’m sure all of you would too. Nevertheless, I will explain day by day what our trip was like.

La Quinta Tennis Club

One month earlier, we had the opportunity to reserve a Har-Tru clay court (green court) at the La Quinta Tennis Club. This club is part of a premium hotel called the La Quinta Resort. Our reservation was at 7:00am, so we had to wake up quite early. Once there, I have to say their center court was what surprised me the most. It was expansive and probably could seat 1,000 people.

The unfortunate part was that it had rained earlier and the clay courts were still wet. While we were aware that it had rained a little bit, I assumed that the clay would have absorbed it and made it firmer. Hence, the people there moved us onto a hard court. My brother and I were shocked by how slow the courts played. With a difference in elevation of more than 6,000 feet, it took a while to adjust accordingly. On a brighter note, it wasn’t bad after all and it actually suited my game. I was able to control the point with spin and mix it up with trips to the net. To add, I even got a selfie with Ian from Essential Tennis on YouTube.

Tickets & Parking

Just like any other sporting event, trying to get into the stadium took a few decades. In fact, after we left La Quinta at 9am, traffic was already bad for a mile in all directions in order to get into the grounds. Fortunately, parking on their property was free for the first time this year with cars covering fields and even more fields of grass. Due to the popularity of the event, I recommend you to leave your hotel or rental around an hour earlier. That way you don’t feel rushed to find a spot, wait in line, and then go to the stadium.

One thing that in my opinion gets underestimated is paying for the Ground Passes. Ground Passes are only $40 bucks per person, but you get to watch so much tennis. In other words, all stadiums besides Stadium 1 are full, if not partially filled with unreserved seats. On all of these outside courts, we were able to watch epic matches between lower ranked players such as Arthur Fils. If you are looking to watch all of the top players like Djokovic, Nadal, or Swiatek, you will have to purchase tickets for Stadium 1. That is also an amazing experience.

Day 1

After getting our tickets checked and walking through the tunnel that takes us into Tennis Paradise, I was shocked by the amount of people walking along with all of us. Compared to other sports, tennis isn’t very popular, but it didn’t seem that way here. Next, I heard a sound that I had never heard in my life. An hour later I found out it was Hubert Hurkacz hitting a serve on Stadium 3. Looking toward the other side, I heard an annoying grunt and realized it was Victoria Azarenka. I couldn’t believe that all of these players that I had been watching on TV for almost three years were actually real human beings.

Another perk about the Ground Passes are watching players practice. Unless you are already paying for the most expensive ticket of the main stadium, this is your chance to watch the legends of the sport up close. In fact, the first and second practice courts have three rows of seats all around for you to sit down and watch them. At one o’clock, Novak Djokovic stepped on the practice court. Take in mind that this is the guy that inspired me to play tennis. I was impressed by how cleanly and effortlessly he made contact with the ball. Of course, I can’t forget about his movement which is second to none.

Interestingly, getting autographs from players wasn’t as hard as it seemed. If you were able to make your way to the front of the fence, it would be rare for the player to miss your hat, ball, shirt, etc. It was almost as if signing memorabilia was automatic for them such as hitting a forehand.  

In the end, our oversize tennis ball was filled with the signatures of Tsitsipas, Djokovic, Mertens, Kudermetova, Cerundolo, Mouratoglou (Rune’s coach), Fils, and Murray. If you ask me, all of the pushing and shoving, getting your shoes ruined, and feeling like you can’t breathe was worth the signatures.

Day 2

The next day, we decided to get there a bit earlier than the day before. Most of the players’ practices were in the morning, which you could track with the BNP Paribas Open app. When we sat down at the practice court, Stefanos Tsitsipas was getting a quick hit before his match later that day. His tennis looked smooth and elegant, almost like the way Roger played. What shocked me the most was his forehand. He really hugs the baseline, which helps him take the ball super early. In my opinion, he has one of the two biggest forehands right now.

The other biggest forehand belongs to Carlos Alcaraz. He practiced right on the same court after Stef, and it was spectacular. Words cannot describe how amazing his forehand is. It has the perfect blend of spin and power, which you cannot truly appreciate until you see it in person. He is very explosive off the ground and the energy put into each shot due to his coiling is unreal, showing why his modern brand of tennis will dominate for a while.

Not only did we watch players practice, but we purchased tickets for Stadium 1 day and night sessions both days. This time around, action kicked off with Jannik Sinner, followed by Iga Swiatek. Our seats were in the upper section, but you actually still get to see both players clearly. Since the sun does hit hard, seats on the west and southwest side of the stadium had the sun behind you, meaning you could enjoy the match without getting blinded.

That very same night, Alcaraz played his first match against Matteo Arnaldi. I was very excited to watch him exhibit his all court game that I take inspiration from. Due to the cold conditions, the ball was slower, causing him to surely mix it up even more. His serve was on fire that night and through the rest of the tournament, constantly reaching 130 mph and above. He did get off to a slow start by losing the first set, but in a sport where you don’t know how long a match will be, I’m more than happy to watch a longer match.

Day 3

On our last day, I started by watching Carlitos practice again, which was fun. I have to say that there were some surreal battles on Court 1 all day long. Coco Gauff started by playing Burel in a tight three setter. She sure possesses some awesome speed and defensive skills. However, I can’t believe she doesn’t pronate on her serves and her forehand really sucks. There was never any penetration or hitting through the court. Things got better with Taylor Fritz’s first strike tennis. Picking up wins must be easy when all you have to do is hit a first serve and if returned, finish with a forehand.

We took a trip to the Tennis Warehouse store, which had everything on their website and more. Besides all of the player’s kits and racquets, there as other stuff like strings and overgrips. I ended up getting myself four packs of grips and two sets of strings. Afterward, there was no chance we would miss Djokovic play. This person is literally a tactical master and never overhit on any ball. I was also shocked by the amount of people from different countries. Everyone has always loved Nadal and Federer, but we forget about the amount of Djoker fans out there.

Lastly, for our last evening session, we had the chance to sit in the lower part of the stadium. The view from down there was epic. Watching your favorite players in practice is cool, but seeing them up close when locked in and fighting for every point is even cooler. Sabalenka played our favorite match of the trip against home favorite Peyton Stearns. Lasting nearly three hours, there were so many twists and turns. Aryna ended up feeling the pressure and faced four match points but finished it off in no better way than in a final set tiebreaker. We will surely remember this match forever.

Final Thoughts

Going to the BNP Paribas Open was surely one of, if not the highlight of my life up until now. Watching and being around the players that inspired me to play tennis made me quite happy. I’d like to thank my parents, who without them, this wouldn’t have been possible. Both of them have spent so much time and energy into this passion of mine. Everyone in my family appreciated how athletic these players are and how cleanly they put so much spin onto the tennis ball. In fact, my mom mentioned the possibility of picking up the sport. Who knows if my dad ends up too. Perhaps tennis does run in the family.