BNP Paribas Open 2026

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The BNP Paribas Open 2026 is a combined professional tournament featuring the ATP Masters 1000 for men and the WTA 1000 for women, offering 1,000 ranking points to the winners. There are only eight such events, in addition to the one we discuss here. It’s the first combined Masters event of the calendar year.

The main BNP Paribas Open 2026 tournament is scheduled from March 1 to March 15, 2026, in Indian Wells, California, USA. BNP Paribas Open is widely regarded as the “Fifth Grand Slam” and the world’s largest combined ATP/WTA two-week event.

The tournament is owned by Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Corporation, who purchased it in 2009. It’s managed by tournament officials, sanctioned by the global tennis tours – ATP and WTA – and sponsored by BNP Paribas, which has been the title sponsor since 2009.

Venue, Competitors’ Structure, and Prize Pool Overview for the BNP Paribas Open 2026

The BNP Paribas Open 2026 is held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, an expansive facility in the Coachella Valley featuring 29 tennis hard courts, including the 16,100-seat Stadium 1—the second-largest outdoor tennis stadium in the world.

A total of 344 players are scheduled to participate across the main draws, including:

• Singles: 96 men and 96 women (192 players in total).
• Doubles: 32 men’s teams and 32 women’s teams (64 players each).
• Mixed doubles (invitational): 12 teams (24 players in total)

The total prize pool for 2026 is projected to exceed $19 million.

• Distribution strategy: Prize money is distributed based on how far a player advances. While major rounds typically see increases each year, the tournament recently added over $1 million specifically for early-round players (qualifying through round 2) to support lower-ranked athletes.
• Discipline split: Traditionally, singles players receive roughly 80% of the total purse, while doubles players receive 20%.
• Gender parity: While Grand Slams offer equal pay, prize money at Indian Wells can vary slightly between the ATP and WTA due to different tour-level revenue structures, though the tournament remains the highest-paying combined event outside the majors.

Participating Athletes in the BNP Paribas Open 2026 and Qualification Overview

The BNP Paribas Open 2026 features a field of the world’s highest-ranked professional tennis players. The official entry lists released in early February 2026 confirm that the top 75 players on both tours are expected to compete.

The field is headlined by the following stars:

• Men (ATP): Carlos Alcaraz (world no. 1 and 2026 Australian Open champion), Jannik Sinner, Novak Djoković (seeking a record sixth title), Jack Draper (defending men’s champion), Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, and top Americans Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Tommy Paul.
• Women (WTA): Aryna Sabalenka (world no. 1), Iga Świątek, Elena Rybakina (2026 Australian Open champion), Mirra Andreeva (defending women’s champion), Amanda Anisimova (top-ranked American at no. 3), and her compatriots Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and rising young talent Iva Jovic.

Players secure a spot in the 96-player main draws through four primary channels:

1. Direct acceptance (mandatory entry):

• As an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event, participation is mandatory for all healthy, eligible players.
• Approximately 75-78 spots are filled automatically based on the ATP and WTA Rankings as of the entry deadline (usually six weeks before the tournament).

2. Qualifying tournament: Players ranked just outside the direct entry cutoff (typically between world no. 76 and no. 150) compete in a preliminary qualifying tournament from March 1–3, 2026. Twelve players from each draw advance to the main draw by winning two consecutive qualifying matches.

3. Wild cards:

• Tournament organizers grant several wild cards (typically 5–8) to players who did not qualify by rank.
• These are often reserved for promising local talent (like Learner Tien or Iva Jovic from the USA), legends returning from injury, or former champions.

4. Protected Ranking: Players returning from long-term injury (e.g., Belinda Bencic) can use a Protected Ranking—their rank from before the injury—to gain direct entry.

Structure and Competition Format of the BNP Paribas Open 2026

The BNP Paribas Open 2026 follows a standard professional tennis progression, moving through qualifying and then a 96-player main draw over two weeks.

The event consists of nine primary rounds for singles players:

As an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event, the format differs slightly between singles and doubles:

• Singles (men & momen):
  • Best-of-three sets.
  • First-to-six games wins a set (must lead by two).
  • Tie-break (first-to-seven) is played if a set reaches 6–6.
• Doubles:
  • Best-of-three sets using No-Ad scoring (at deuce, a single point decides the game).
  • Match tie-break (first-to-10) is used in lieu of a full third set if the players split the first two sets.

The tournament uses a single-elimination system. A player or team is out of the competition immediately upon losing a match. There’s no round-robin stage; the field is cut in half each round until the final.

Favorites in the BNP Paribas Open 2026, Betting Options, and Where to Watch

Following the 2026 Australian Open, the betting markets for the BNP Paribas Open favor players who excel on the high-bouncing, “slow” hard courts of Indian Wells:

• Men’s singles (ATP):
  • Carlos Alcaraz: The World No. 1 and 2026 Australian Open champion is the top favorite as he seeks to join legends like Federer and Djokovic with three straight titles.
  • Jannik Sinner: The recent Australian Open runner-up remains a primary threat due to his consistent hard-court form.
  • Novak Djoković: Despite being later in his career, he remains a heavy favorite whenever he enters, seeking a record-breaking 6th title.
• Women’s singles (WTA):
  • Aryna Sabalenka: The current World No. 1 is widely favored after her strong start to the season.
  • Elena Rybakina: The 2026 Australian Open champion is a co-favorite, having previously won this title in 2023.
  • Iga Świątek: A two-time champion (2022, 2024), she’s the heavy favorite for any event played on slow hard courts or clay.
  • Madison Keys: After winning the 2025 Australian Open, she leads the American favorites alongside Coco Gauff.

You can bet on match winners, set scores, and tournament “outrights” (overall winners) through licensed sportsbooks, among which you can find your best tennis sportsbook. FanDuel and DraftKings are the primary platforms for tennis. Other highly-rated options for 2026 include BetMGM and Bet365.

• Bet types:
  • Moneyline: Betting on a specific player to win a match.
  • Game/set spread: Betting on the margin of victory.
  • Prop bets: Wagers on specific events, such as whether a match will have a tie-break.

The tournament is broadcast globally across multiple platforms:

• United States: Tennis Channel is the exclusive domestic home, providing 24/7 coverage across its main channel, T2, and the Tennis Channel Plus streaming app. Live TV streaming is also available via Fubo.
• UK & Ireland: Sky Sports Tennis is the primary broadcaster, with streaming available on the NOW TV platform.
• Canada: English coverage is on TSN, while French coverage is provided by TVA Sports.
• International streaming:
  • Tennis TV: The official streaming service for all ATP matches (available globally on most devices).
  • WTA TV: The official streaming home for all women’s matches (available outside the U.S. and China).

Pros and Cons of Favorites in the BNP Paribas Open 2026

The BNP Paribas Open 2026 features a highly competitive field, with recent form from the Australian Open meeting the unique, high-bouncing conditions of the Indian Wells desert. Below are the pros and cons of the tournament favorites as of February 2026.

Betting strategy context:

• The “favorite trap”: While favorites like Alcaraz and Sabalenka win roughly 70.8% of Masters 1000 matches, they are often “overpriced” (short odds), requiring a high win rate to break even.
• Early round danger: Top seeds receive a first-round bye, meaning their second-round opponent often has the advantage of having already played a match on the courts.
• Conditions: The Indian Wells “slow” hard courts and high-performance balls favor grinders and players with heavy topspin over pure serve-bots