By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday May 20, 2021
Tennis at Indian Wells—in October!
The BNP Paribas Open has announced that it will be played in October, for 2021 only. The tournament, which was postponed in 2020 at the last minute due to the coronavirus pandemic, will begin selling tickets on June 21.
Official tournament dates will be announced after the confirmation of the fall calendar by the ATP and WTA Tours.
“We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to hold the BNP Paribas Open in October and bring professional tennis back to the desert,” said Tournament Director Tommy Haas. “We have never wavered in our desire to create an unforgettable experience this fall in Tennis Paradise for our fans, players and sponsors.”
The ATP also announced that the Stockholm Open, originally scheduled to run in Week 42 (October 18-25) alongside the VTB Kremlin Cup (Moscow) and European Open (Antwerp), will now take place from 7-13 November in the same week as the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
“Since the resumption of the Tour in August 2020, we have had to take an agile approach to the calendar with the aim of staging as many of our events as possiblem,” said ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi. “Everyone in our sport has missed the BNP Paribas Open over the past two years and its return this October is great for tennis. The calendar is extremely complex and I would like to thank all events in that section of the season, as we look to accommodate these changes for the benefit of the overall sport.”
October is a busy time of the year in China, with events in Beijing, Wuhan and Shanghai, as well as other tour stops in Europe. It isn’t quite clear what the month will look like as of yet, but it will be drastically different now that Indian Wells, a two-week event, will be added.
"We are excited to be back in the desert at one of the most prestigious events on the WTA and ATP Tour calendars," said Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO. "We would like to recognize the hard work and commitment the entire BNP Paribas Open team has put forth in order to stage this world-class tournament this October.”
The tournament is holding a press conference via Zoom later today—stay tuned for more info.