The best players in the world made the trip to one of the most coveted tournaments on the ATP and WTA calendars. It offers huge rewards while commencing the illustrious Sunshine swing, closely followed by the upcoming Miami Open set to also be widely attended.
Indian Wells attracted a whole load of tennis fans to the desert as they enjoyed their stay in ‘Tennis Paradise’ while watching the top players compete tooth and nail on the court. A total of 96 players were listed in each of the ATP and WTA draws, but only one from either tournament could leave with the trophy. That reward went to Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, winning closely fought and dramatic finals to claim the title for the first time.
Record attendance challenging Grand Slams
Over the past couple of weeks, Indian Wells made a statement of intent. A total of 526,000 fans made their way into the tournament to watch proceedings over 12 days of main draw action. A remarkable achievement cementing its intention to compete with the biggest and most historic tournaments in the world.
Just for context, when comparing them to major events, Wimbledon pulled in 548,770 fans in 2025, with Roland Garros mustering up 687,000 in total. These numbers being in the same conversation as Grand Slam tournaments, despite being slightly shorter, can only be a positive thing.
‘Tennis Paradise’ is home to the second biggest tennis stadium in the world. Stadium 1 can fit in its stands 16,100 people. Only Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows (23,771) can boast a higher attendance capacity.
Stadium 1, located at Indian Wells, is the second biggest tennis stadium on the planet
They also have Stadium 2, which is hugely popular with the fans, although controversial changes with how people access it have been one of the negatives of the event. With a ground pass, fans could previously access the upper level to fill out the stadium. That was abolished for this year’s competition, with the news not being met warmly by spectators and tennis fans.