The next edition of the California-based event will take place from March 5-18, with the competition staged in Indian Wells. Prize money has been increased for all rounds of the competition, but the $1 million prize money on offer for the winners means the tournament will be the first combined tennis event outside the International Tennis Federation-operated Grand Slams to offer such a reward.
The total purse for the 2012 tournament will increase to more than $11 million, with the runners-up receiving $500,000, the semi-finalists earning $200,000 and the quarter-finalists pocketing $100,000. The world’s No.1 ranked male and female tennis players won this year’s event, with Novak Djokovic triumphing in the men’s competition and Caroline Wozniacki winning in the women’s 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 WTA chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster. “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.”
Outgoing ATP executive chairman and president Adam Helfant 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 recognising the players in this way for the tremendous interest and value they continue to drive into the sport.”
