BNP Paribas Open begins in Indian Wells
The 2017 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament is scheduled to begin Monday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden with women’s singles qualifying play.
Check out the improvements that have been made at the Tennis Gardens ahead of the 2017 tournament.
There are 21 new restaurants and concessions in Stadium 1, including a100-seat version of famed chef Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, BS Taqueria, Dave’s Doghouse, Cassell’s hamburger stand, the vegetable-focused Melissa’s Produce,Piero’s PizzaVino and Sherman’s Deli. There is also a new big video screen in
the Stadium Plaza.
Play will begin at 11 a.m., with gates opening at 10 a.m. Admission is free.
The women’s singles main draw will be conducted at 3 p.m. in the Stadium Plaza, with selected fans having the opportunity to participate in the draw and have their pictures taken with professional players.
The 48 players seeking 12 spots in the 96-player main draw include 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, the 2002 and 2007 BNP Paribas Open champion.
Shaui Peng of China is the highest ranked player in qualifying, 49th on the Women’s Tennis Association singles rankings. She was forced to retire from her second-round match in the Malaysian Open Thursday because of a lower back injury, trailing Magda Linette of Poland, 5-2.
Peng was ranked 14th in 2011 and reached the U.S. Open semifinals in 2014. She will face Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium in the first match in Stadium 7.
The highest-seeded of the 12 Americans in the qualifying draw is Varvara Lepchenko, who is seeded 10th and is 88th on the WTA singles rankings. The 29-year-old Lepchenko was born in Uzbekistan, has lived in the U.S.since 2001, became a U.S. citizen in 2011 and represented the U.S. in the 2012 Olympics. She will face Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia in the second match in Stadium 3.
Players winning two matches in qualifying will advance to the main draw. Players losing in today’s qualifying matches will receive $2,085, while the winners will receive at least $4,075.
Men’s qualifying play is scheduled to begin Tuesday, women’s main draw play Wednesday and men’s main draw play Thursday.
