By Rick Riozza
Hey there sports fans! As you loyal readers know by now, we annually cover the BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden with a perspective for us wine enthusiasts in the crowd. To those in the know, we proudly refer to this event as Tennis Paradise!
Ask any tennis enthusiast around the world and they all agree—well, 97.8% percent agree that this Indian Wells event, is considered the “5th Grand Slam” tennis event in the world. This accolade would include the “4” Grand Slam events featuring Wimbledon, Roland Garros/French, U.S. and Australian Open.
The BNP Paribas Open is the largest combined ATP Tour Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tennis event in the world, and one of the premier fixtures on tour having been named Tournament of the Year by both the WTA and the ATP Tour for a record-setting ten consecutive years. This two-week event is currently underway with everyday match
play, day & night, in March from the 2nd to the Sunday of the 16th, where the Men’s and Women’s Final will be played.
Stadium 1 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden has a capacity of 16,102. This makes it the second largest outdoor tennis stadium in the world after the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open. This Tennis Garden venue is a 54-acre campus with 29 hard courts and there is also a tennis club, fitness center, and locker rooms. It is considered one of the most picturesque and premier venues in all of sports. It also hosts a variety of racket sports, concerts, and shows.
Here in the desert, this two-week tournament draws more people (over 450,00) from all over the world and brings in more spending dollars into the Coachella Valley than any other sporting, musical, entertainment, or culinary event in our desert. And whether one likes the current economic situation or not, tennis enthusiasts tend to have much more expendable cash available for our local hotels, restaurants, shops, markets, travel, etc. than the Coachella & Stagecoach party crowd.
But money matters aside, this column always likes to raise the fact that tennis and wine are a perfect match! Whether you’re catching the riveting competition of world champion players like Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic, and Madison Keys; simply roaming around the Tennis Garden with its fantastic array of “village” shops and activities; or, actually sitting at one of the world class restaurants located in the Garden or situated in Stadium 1 and 2, there’s a great chance that you are nursing a cold flute of Champagne or a goblet of fine red, white, or rosé wine.
And with that long long introduction, that brings us to the Official Wine Partner in Tennis Paradise: Kim Crawford Wine. This world famous winery is set to bring their world-class beverages to Indian Wells for all to enjoy. The New Zealand-based company will serve a variety of their signature wines all across the grounds, including at a premium Kim Crawford Wine Bar located in the Retail Village of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Pretty much every wine enthusiast in the world (well—99.9% or so) knows of the fresh stimulating flavors of their flagship wine Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blance. Folks in the desert here have unofficially made “Savvy Blanc” the wine of the Coachella Valley. Enjoying only a quick winter here, the heat starts up big time in March, where only the tennis players, along with mad dogs and Englishmen are out playing. A chilled savvy blanc is so refreshing.
So at the Kim Crawford Wine Bar aka Kim Crawford Club, they will be serving the requisite savvy blanc along with their Kim Crawford “Illuminate” brand of low-calorie, low-alcohol white wine and rosé from New Zealand. It’s made using a process that removes some alcohol without affecting the wine’s aroma or taste. A perfect match wine in this desert tournament!
Also serving with be Kim Crawford Pinot Grigio—this one is from Marlborough New Zealand, not from Italy. And for good measure, for you red wine fans, they will also be pouring one of California’s favorite Pinot Noir, Meiomi from Santa Barbara.
Other beverage venues to visit at the Garden include: Casa Dani Champagne Lounge, Maestro Tequila Club, Le Bar by Camphor, Veroni Lounge, Top Spin Bar, and the Serv Bar located in Stadium 1. And of course one will find ice-cold beer available all around the park.
As to the daily tennis competition, you’ll find everything you wish to know at bnpparibasopen.com/schedule/competitio.
The Tennis Paradise Shop will serve as the main home for all official tournament merchandise as well as signature apparel and accessories from the world’s most popular brands. The store will open from 10am-8pm until the conclusion of the tournament.
The FILA Retail Store is also back for 2025, with fans able to shop premium apparel, footwear, accessories and tournament-branded merchandise from the Official Apparel and Footwear Supplier of the BNP Paribas Open. Tennis Warehouse rounds out the trio of on-site stores, allowing fans to gear up like their favorite pros with the latest footwear, racquets, and apparel from the hottest brands in the industry.
The complete calendar of on-site fan events and activities can be viewed at bnpparibasopen.com/onsite/activities. Tickets & Packages for the 2025 BNP Paribas Open are available and can be purchased at tennisparadise.com via phone at 800.999.1585 (Option 2), or in-person at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Box Office.
And so, as we always sign off—Anyone for Tennis & Wine! See you there! Cheers!
