BNP Paribas Open celebrates 40 years of tennis tournaments in the Coachella Valley
Some of the worlds best tennis players have been coming to play in tournaments in the Coachella Valley for the past four decades.
The BNP Paribas Open is celebrating this milestone with one-on-one interviews past and present players.
Tennis tournaments in the Coachella Valley began in 1976 at Mission Hills in Palm Springs.
From there, the tournaments have had a variety of different names, been presented presented by different sponsors, and take place in different towns.
“Forty years is a great milestone, we want to go higher and farther but looking back from where this came from, Mission Hills to La Quita, to the Hyatt Grand Championships to the Gardens in Indian Wells, we are thrilled with the growth,” said Matt Van Tuinen, marketing director for the BNP Paribas Open.
SEE FULL HISTORY OF THE TOURNAMENT HERE
“Our goal is to keep moving forward, because we know that the fans we want a great show for them, the players we are getting the best in the world,” said Tuinen.
Since 1982 tournament attendance has grown from 30,000 to more than 431,000 fans and prize money has grown from $250,000 to more than $10 million.
For the eighth straight year, the BNP Paribas Open broke its attendance record.
