Formerly the Pacific Life Open, the event will be the BNP Paribas Open, with the title sponsor the France-based bank that's one of the largest in the world. BNP Paribas has long-standing sponsorship ties to tennis, including the French Open, Davis Cup and Federation Cup.
The new name will be used for the tournament from March 9-22 at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The attendance for the two-week event last year was 330,000, ranking it behind only the four Grand Slams.
Organizers of Indian Wells also announced that equal purses of $4.5 million (?3.4 million) each will be offered to the men and women for the first time.
The event began in 1976 and first included both men's and women's fields 20 years ago.
Casillas Denies Eto’o Again In ‘Iker Vs Nadal’ Charity Game
Spain-Portugal Confirm 2018 World Cup Bid
German Open scrapped from WTA schedule
Cilic, Schuettler advance in Chennai Open
