Indian Wells Increase Approved But New ATP Rule Ahead

Written by: Staff on 22nd February 2013

Indian Wells Increase Approved But New ATP Rule Ahead

epa03151001 General view of the center court during the men's final match between John Isner (bottom) of the USA and Roger Federer of Switzerland at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 18 March 2012. EPA/MIKE NELSON |

After the ATP Board of Directors approved the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells proposed prize money distribution for 2013, they will go back to the drawing board after the tournament ends and try to come up with a new rule that addresses tournaments that want to go above the annual minimum mandatory prize money increase.

Total prize money for 2013 Indian Wells will increase to $5,030,402, which will be an additional $860,000 of prize money for the men’s singles and doubles events on top of what the minimum requirement is for 2013, which is $4,169,090 for all Masters Series tournament.

In 2012, Indian Wells went over its minimum prize money when it paid out $4,546,864 in what is considered to be on site prize money (tournaments also contribute to the tour’s the bonus pool, pension funds, etc. which can bring their total outlay up another 15 percent or so), so its 2013 increase is really a $483,538 increase over 2012.

The women’s singles and doubles players are slated to get similar increases.

The ATP administration had opposed Indian Wells’ round-by-round distribution formula in singles, as well how much singles players were getting as opposed to doubles players. The ATP was advocating a traditional 80-20 split between singles and doubles, but has conceded for this year that Indian Wells’ preferred 82-18 split will be allowed

At 2013 Indian Wells, the winners, finalists and semifinalists will get more than they would under the normal ATP model, but the players who reach the round of 32, round of 16 and quarterfinals would earn more under the ATP model splitting up the same amount of prize money ($5,030,402,).

However, all players, both men and women in singles and doubles, will see an increase.

“We have worked with tournament organizers over a number of weeks in order to get as close to the ATP prize money distribution rules as possible,” said ATP CEO Brad Drewett said. “We’re pleased to have reached a decision for 2013. The investment that [owner and billionaire] Larry Ellison has made in the BNP Paribas Open in recent years has been tremendous for the sport. For the long-term benefit of both our players and tournaments, it’s important to establish a rule that can provide suitable parameters for similar requests to be processed in years ahead. We are always looking for ways to increase prize money for our players and continue to review a number of options in this area. Prize money increases are always a positive reflection on the state of our sport, however there are a number of safeguards in place in accordance with ATP rules to ensure that prize money being invested into the sport is distributed in a manner that benefits our players proportionately from one round to another.”