By Tennis Now | Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Indian Wells continues its WTA reign as a desert jewel.
For a fifth consecutive year—and tenth overall—players have voted the BNP Paribas Open the WTA Premier Mandatory Tournament of the Year.
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The BNP Paribas Open, the largest WTA and ATP Tour combined two-week event in the world, held annually at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, has swept the top tournament honors on both the men’s and women’s Tours each year since 2014.
“We are honored and humbled that for the fifth straight year, our event has been recognized by the women’s players as Tournament of the Year,” tournament director Tommy Haas said. “Our entire staff works incredibly hard to make this event the pre-eminent stop on the tennis calendar, and we look forward welcoming the players and tennis fans from around the world for the best event yet in March 2019.”
The 2018 Indian Wells saw the emergence of Naomi Osaka, who knocked off Maria Sharapova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Maria Sakkari, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and Daria Kasatkina to capture her first career title in rousing style.
The BNP Paribas Open was a launching pad for Osaka, who went on to sweep 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, 6-2, 6-4, in the US Open final to win her maiden major.
The Premier Mandatory designation is the highest category on the WTA, outside of the Tour Finals, and also includes the tournaments in Miami, Madrid, and Beijing.
Last month, the BNP Paribas Open was also named the 2018 ATP Tour Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year for the fifth consecutive year.