BNP PARIBAS OPEN 2014, 5-16 MARCH , TOURNAMENT INFO

TOURNAMENT INFO
Tier: Premier 
Prize Money: $5,946,740 
Surface: Hard 
Director: Steve Simon 

The BNP Paribas Open is the most attended tennis event in the world outside of the four Grand Slams. Since 2000, it has been held at the state-of-the-art Indian Wells Tennis Garden, which features a 16,100-seat stadium - the second-largest in the world. The venue sits in the Coachella Valley, known for its 354 days of sunshine a year, making it a perfect setting for professional tennis. Debuting as a men's event in 1976, the women came to Indian Wells the week before the men in 1989 and then concurrently in 1996. Now held just before Miami's Sony Open Tennis in March, the two-week event has evolved into a 'Premier Mandatory', making it one of the WTA calendar's four most prestigious stops. Among Indian Wells' many accolades are being named the WTA's Premier Tournament Of The Year four times - in 1997, 2005, 2006 and 2009; becoming the first event in the world to offer the Hawk-Eye challenge system on every match court in 2011; and becoming the first ATP/WTA combined tournament to distribute $1 million in prize money to each of its singles champions in 2012. Indian Wells champions include WTA legends Lindsay Davenport, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles, and more recently 21st century superstars Victoria Azarenka, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. Lisa Raymond has the tournament doubles record with seven titles.