INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA - The BNP Paribas Open, held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in March, will become the first ATP World Tour and WTA combined tennis tournament to award its men's and women's singles champions each $1 million in prize money, it was announced on Tuesday.
In its continued effort to be the largest event on the WTA and ATP World Tour, it will increase its total prize money commitment for the 2012 tournament to more than $11 million. In addition to the $1 million being awarded to both the men's and women's singles champions, the singles finalists, semifinalists and quarterfinalists will now earn $500,000, $200,000 and $100,000, respectively, and prize money has been increased for all rounds of the tournament.
"The BNP Paribas Open has been raising the bar for the sport over the course of the past four decades, and today's $1 million winners' prize money announcement represents yet another historic milestone," said Stacey Allaster, the Chairman & CEO of the WTA. "The BNP Paribas Open is one of the cornerstone events in professional tennis exactly because of this attention to players and willingness to innovate and push the boundaries of success."
Adam Helfant, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: "The ATP World Tour is stronger than ever - both on the court and in terms of our business. It's fantastic that the BNP Paribas Open, one of the biggest and most important events on the tour, is taking the lead in recognizing the players in this way for the tremendous interest and value they continue to drive into the sport."
"Becoming the first combined ATP World Tour and WTA event to award $1 million to each champion and reach these overall prize money levels is a testament to the growth and success of the event for more than 35 years," commented Steve Simon, the Tournament Director for the BNP Paribas Open.
In 2009 the BNP Paribas Open granted equal prize money to both men and women while increasing the total prize money purse by more than $3 million. In less than five years the tournament has nearly doubled the total prize money offered to players (2008 - $5.835 Million, 2012 - $11.073 Million).
The BNP Paribas Open boasts a star-studded roster of former champions on the women's side, with all of the champions since its inaugural year in 1989 ranked in the Top 5 or having been ranked in the Top 5 at one time in their careers. Many of them have been No.1s as well: Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters (who have all won it twice) and Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki (one-time winners).
For more info on the BNP Paribas Open, visit www.bnpparibasopen.com.
