On par with the Grand Slams: Indian Wells confirms record attendance in 2026 tournament

It is fair to say that the 2026 Indian Wells proved to be a huge success. The Masters 1000 tournament was hugely popular with tennis fans all around the world as they watched along on their TV's. However, a huge number of fans also made the trip to view the best players in the world, bringing in a record attendance.

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.

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.

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.

Tournament director Tommy Haas explained why those changes were implemented. "In previous years, if you only had a grounds pass and wanted to get into the upper level, the lines were just crazy," he told the Tennis Channel. "Sometimes you couldn’t even get in because top players were playing there. So we’re trying something different this year with reserved ticketing. After the tournament we’ll evaluate everything, get feedback from the fans, and then decide whether to continue this way or maybe go back to the previous system."

Despite this minor hiccup, the former German tennis player will be hugely delighted with how the tournament went as preparations commence for next year. As for the current tennis, Florida calls with the Miami Open set to conclude the Sunshine swing action for another year.