Indian Wells, but backstage. Also, musing about the appearance fees bag.
Let me walk you through why Indian Wells is a special tennis place. Also, here wondering if the appearance fees bubble is about to pop.
Welcome back! It’s a long TSS edition today, so be ready to scroll and read it when you have the time or a cup of tea/coffee at the ready. I’m giving you a glimpse of what Indian Wells is like backstage, at least for me. I had fun finding these old pictures, especially the ones of Novak and Andy. I’m also musing about what might be going on with appearance fees nowadays. You’ll also find news about Iga Swiatek’s website and a Lululemon hope for tennis fashion.
A TRIP DOWN INDIAN WELLS MEMORY LANE
It’s occurring to me that 2025 marks my 10-year anniversary! A decade ago, I decided to leave my writer’s job at L’Equipe (national sports newspaper and website in France) and return to being a freelance tennis writer (this one loves her freedom, no regrets). The first event covered in that new life was the Australian Open, but I had covered it in 2012 already, so I guess it didn’t hit me as much as marking the start of a different life.
Indian Wells, though! OMG. I had never set foot there, never set foot in Los Angeles either, and I felt like Bilbo going for that adventure. And it would actually end being quite the journey for a first ride there. Long story short: I spent two hours to get out of the airport because LAX’s lines for visa checking are insane, then discovered a ride from LA to Palm Desert can mean four hours when it’s traffic time, that it takes you into beautiful mountains and scenery which is beautiful until it gets scary when night comes because you end being alone out there and it’s not full of lights. So, I arrived at the hotel in what looked like the middle of nowhere close to midnight.
But the next day and every day after that for two weeks, I’d wake up with the sun shining and look at the palm trees: love at first sight. Well, then I also had to sneak (every day) into the umpires’ shuttle to get on-site and back from the site because I had no other way. You do what you gotta do! I also discovered that the evening can be freaking cold there so don’t get fooled by the heat of the day and put that jacket in that bag.
Indian Wells - The BNP Paribas Open, I know - will also end up being quite an important step in my career. So, as it’s desert time again on Tour, let me share why Indian Wells will always be a special place for me and why it’s a different tennis spot from the Tour’s routine.
Why is Indian Wells on the short list of the fav spots on Tour for everybody involved? Well, many players and their entourage love their golf, so there’s that. I wrote a feature about the Indian Wells golf resort for a Belgian newspaper in 2019, actually, and it was a lot of fun.
Like, it’s serious and exclusive business there. FYI, I do not care that much about golf (I played one year in high school too, and hated it). What sets Indian Wells apart is that it’s alone in the desert but also close enough to Palm Springs (so cute) and Los Angeles to feel kind of glamorous. Zendaya and Tom Holland coming from LA last year to hang out with Iga Swiatek and promote Zendaya’s Challengers movie? Only in Indian Wells if not at the US Open.
It’s picturesque and it’s so freaking quiet (some would say a bit too much because it’s mostly what looks like a great retirement place all year long): you stroll around under the sun in the morning and it doesn’t feel like you’re off to work. Players have so much space to relax, spend most of their time outdoors and not stuck in locker rooms or players lounges. Warm up and fitness can all be done on that vast field outside. There are so many courts that nobody is fighting for practice time. It’s also never crowded, unlike the US Open or Rome, for example. It’s a sure spot during the year for players and their teams to bring their entire families. Many also rent houses instead of staying at hotels and get, a bit like at Wimbledon, a feel of “normal life.”
Indian Wells is all about the vibes and all about tailoring the experience for the (top) players (which might find its inspiration in what Shanghai did for years with individual lockers and so on). At the players’ lounge, you’ll find desks for all types of services dedicated to the players, for example, which has become increasingly the norm everywhere now.
Players who lose early can often still be seen around a week later because the tournament lets them use the facilities and the money allowance for food and stuff. Miami being still a while later, players prefer staying in the desert where they also won’t struggle to find hitting partners.
And the food is delicious: they’re rolling sushis 24/7 from Nobu (because there’s a Nobu on the grounds that is always full as if you were in NYC before or after a Broadway show and not attending a tennis event). Like, PLEASE. They had (and still have, I think) a smoothie and bowls bar (best acai berry bowls I’ve ever had, and a mean matcha one too), all the gluten and dairy free options you need and a gigantic terrac (where you can also cross all the celebrities being invited for the day or the night). Delicious food and various options 24/7 ain’t a detail in the tennis world where days and nights are spent on-site.
As everybody is way more chill, that’s also where the media can get the best opportunities for interviews and features. And that’s when Indian Wells came to play big for me: When I understood that it was the best place to deal with top players for exclusive interviews, it became so worth the trip. I got some of my big breaks here, landing features with Novak Djokovic (2015) or Andy Murray (2016). I was also helped by the fact that very few non-US reporters are making the trip to Indian Wells.
That Djokovic interview for my first huge client deal since becoming a solopreneur gave me a crash course into the backstage of the job. As I put my hand on the doorknob - Novak and team behind me - to the room where the shooting would happen, I had no idea if the setup was ready. I was freaking out. I’m not sure I fully remember why but something about not being able to do it outside for some reason at the last minute, the other options of the photographer not being accepted and then as often with the biggest names that have a tight schedule, Novak not being available for as long as we thought. So I basically opened that door with eyes closed, praying the universe. And the photographer I worked with had done a miracle by pulling this out in record time. Novak saw nothing but let me tell you that around him we all started to finally breath again. Here are some backstage pictures I took back in those days during the shootings.
The Australian Open stress is long gone, the tiring indoors season to the Middle East swing is done too, and it’s the double sunshine time where, back then, it was also a thing to make sure the stars would get coverage and be seen. So yes, they’re going to be available. Adding that in these days, the biggest names were often nowhere to be seen in February, and so Indian Wells would signal their comeback. Los Angeles and the NBA calling, it’s also a perfect time and place for tennis stars to get their personal brand going, get these business meetings, and start rubbing elbows with the who’s who. It’s sometimes a weird mix, as with Rafael Nadal staying at Larry Ellison’s spot during the tournament.
In my tennis travel book, Indian Wells is also the place I discovered Five Guys and The Cheesecake Factory because I was to discover the great Highway 111. I was staying at the Holiday Inn Express (like most players in the qualifications and some of the lower ranked players of the main draw because it was the official hotel with the most affordable rates) right on it, and found there was a bus line going from there all the way to Palm Springs and, on the way, you could reach the malls. Enough said. I would arrive a few days early and indulge a bit. All the non-US colleagues would have a run at the Cheesecake Factory at least once during our stay and marvel at the size of the menu.
Side note about Palm Springs and Highway 111:
It would turn out a pretty big thing for me as in 2017 I landed way earlier than usual in Palm Desert because I had secured an exclusive interview with Maria Sharapova for Le Parisien Magazine (French national outlet) for her return following a doping ban. A crazy journey as the interview was supposed to happen in Los Angeles, but Maria’s schedule changed: she was going to be in Palm Springs all weekend, would I mind? Of course, not. I was still in Paris, had all booked for Los Angeles and no way to now land in Palm Springs airport (that is SO cute btw): I laughed, panicked and found a way. Thanks to that bus on Highway 111. Got lucky and could get into my trusted Holiday Inn express a day earlier, found a drive from LAX to Palm Desert and hoped on that bus that was, as I had discovered while trying not to miss that interview, stopping right near the Parker Hotel where I was meeting Maria Sharapova. Maria being Maria, she fully apologized for that hustle and gave me one hour of interview instead of the thirty minutes of the deal. She also had done the photoshoot on January 2nd for three hours. I can still remember trying to make sure all would go smooth on a Jan 1st while being about to get in a flight to Australia. Both amazing and wild.
Years later, I would destroy an ankle in Marseille on a few hours of strolling during the tournament, and so would make the trip to Indian Wells in an ankle brace and so much pain (flying with a bad ankle: very bad, lots of ice needed), but nothing would have made me miss my rendezvous with the desert! Not even my bank account being hacked: one year, I landed at LAX with many calls from my bank about someone hacking my account and how they decided to block it for now. I froze because, due to the time difference, it meant I could contact nobody; it was night in Europe. And I had my ride to Palm Desert to pay. And a valid card to give at my hotel for check-in. Also, what do you mean someone is taking money from my account? And how much??
That was my worst ever ride from an airport. Long story short: I was lucky to have an amazing colleague friend who paid for my ride and gave her card to the hotel, waiting for me to arrive very late, I was lucky that my bank caught it all when the amounts taken were small yet and that they were able to allow my credit card to work just in California and then lucky that all the merchants these people tried to buy stuff from with my bank info somehow found it fishy enough to decline and alert. Telling you that it made me learn the hard way how to travel the world with a stronger money system.
That’s how special the place is. It’s also the place where Covid-19 started to hit the tennis world. In the middle of the night and three hours before I was to leave for the airport in 2020, the event got cancelled. I was a few hours away from being on a plane and then stuck in California at the worst time. I also got lucky that the people dealing with us all there are really top notch: I got fully refunded for my hotel stay (despite the fact they didn’t have to) and even the company I used to get the (expensive) ride from LAX refunded me (which they really didn’t have to). It would be the least of my concerns for a very long time.
The tennis world is changing, so will Indian Wells change too?
I haven’t been back in Indian Wells since for budget reasons (covering tennis post-Covid became way, way, more expensive) and access reasons, as the tournament for a while decided to cut us from the spaces we could get to talk with coaches and all. I was happy to see that it got restored last year as the tournament understood many media wouldn’t be coming back without access: it’s an expensive trip for newsrooms and a tough time zone for many, so we need to make it worth it. Indian Wells thrives by being a win-win situation for all the parties involved in professional tennis. And it’s surely why the tournament found a way to eclipse Miami (that not so long ago was said to be the 5th Slam. Well, so long with that… I’ll talk to you of my Miami experience next time!) It’s both the high-pressure tennis life and what’s left of the glam and fun of being on Tour. How long will it stay that way? I hope long enough that I can experience it again.
The tennis world has changed a lot lately, and I’m wondering how much of a tennis power Indian Wells and Miami, The Double Sunshine picture, can remain. What do you think? Have you ever attended Indian Wells? Let me know in the comments!
WHAT ABOUT THAT BAG?
I was looking at Acapulco’s draw getting rid of all its big names, and suddenly, it got my brain back to a topic I need to research this year. I will come back with a proper feature about it, but in the meantime, I’m putting it out there as food for thought and getting feedback.
So, we’re slowly but surely getting out of the Big 4 era, and we’ve already been out of the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova era. We know all about their on-court achievements, their sponsor deals, and the way they’d fill up stadiums. Nowadays, we can read tournaments announcing they’re breaking attendance records every week, so I guess right now, all is still well in that area.
But I’m wondering about a specific power of these Avengers that I’m not sure is being replicated right now: the money they were getting for just showing up. Like, when I see what’s going on right now in terms of top players delivering and getting deep in tournaments every week, I’m not sure the appearance fees are either still the same or, if they are, I’m not sure how long it’ll stay. Let me explain.
A HUGE BUSINESS
I guess you all know what the appearance fees are, but in case of: tournaments would pay players to be in their draws. What kind of tournaments? All of them except the Grand Slam events and the ATP and WTA 1000s, where it’s mandatory to attend and where it’s not allowed to pay players to be there. So, the irony is that it’s the smaller events with less money than the big guns that have to fork the most. I can still hear the agent of one top player laughing at a Grand Slam director’s request, saying, “Hey, you get my guy for free so...!” So no.
How big of a business is this? Well, have a listen to Andy Roddick about it and you’ll know. It’s a 6-figure to 7 or even 8-figure big business. It’s more sometimes than the entire prize money of the event. And it doesn’t only depend on a player’s achievement. “Kournikova, at the height of her career, was commanding more in appearance fees than anyone else on earth,” said Roddick, who revealed he got 500k in 2009 from Abu Dhabi to play an exhibition and “a 6-figure+ deal in Memphis before I hit the ball. (…) I could dictate terms of a tournament existing sometimes.” As confirmed by Roddick here, Roger Federer’s lifetime deal with Halle was worth “millions and millions of dollars," and it was the reason why you’d see the other big names going to Queen’s, where suddenly they’d get more money. “It’s a complete open market wild west. It’s a massive business,” commented Roddick.
Why do events pay this much? Well, if they sign the star early enough, they can convince sponsors to sign, too. They can up their broadcasting rights fees, they can raise their tickets fees. They can be sure to be a sold-out success. They can be sure to get coverage. They can surely make their already signed sponsors and often their cities very happy. They can gain a lot of leverage in the tennis world.
It has always existed, but the huge difference brought on by the era of the Avengers is that these people weren’t getting out of their beds for less than a 7-figure deal. They got so much money in appearance fees that people would not believe. The 1 million became the rule, not the exception, and was soon sometimes becoming 3,5 and then we even stopped to hear about how much they’d get. In 2012, Roger Federer played six matches for The Gillette Tour in South America for a reported 10 to 12 million dollars. So, for sure, the exhibition last year in Saudi Arabia was a reminder of the tennis players’ power as Jannik Sinner got 6 million dollars for winning it and each player over a million to play. But Sinner had to win to get these millions. Federer and co. sometimes just needed to show up.
A STATUS MARKER
So, why do I wonder what’s going on now? Well, because Vienna went on the record in 2023 saying they rejected a 750k demand from Carlos Alcaraz. Last time a tournament director went after such a big name and revealed the appearance fees issue, it was in Basel in 2012 when the director was fighting with Federer, saying the star now wanted his full price of 1 million and not the 500k gesture. When I tell you, it didn’t go down well with Roger… But that’s it, no event would have dared going public about it. You cannot pay? You shut up in case you can in the future, and they’re still willing. Federer came back to Basel, but do you know where he also didn’t go during his farewell in 2023? Basel. But Vienna didn’t care about airing Alcaraz’s business.
Why would a player reject a whole tournament instead of negotiating their fees? Because the moment the word is going that you can lower your price, well then the lower price becomes your new price. It’s also a status marker. An up-and-coming player years ago decided to come to the tournament, saying he was the next Federer and so wasn’t going to show up anywhere under a million. Well, he got laughed out of the room, and he played for whatever else price he got. You don’t get the Avengers paycheck just like that.
But his mindset, and I suspect today’s stars’ mindset too, is that the bar set by the Avengers is now the norm. This is the money available for the VIP of the top players. But is it, still? I’m seeing players adding exhibition match after exhibition match, and I wonder if it’s to compensate for the fact that they’re getting less in appearance fees. Or maybe they get as much but have just become very greedy, or they’re just more open to this than the Avengers were because these were people refusing to take unnecessary risks with their bodies. If the prices were still the same, could some of these exhibitions or even some of these 250s and 500s really get these types of draws? When I start seeing multiple big names in the same event, I’m wondering if the money is really raining nowadays or if there’s been some downgrading.
And so I’m back to Acapuco’s draw being decimated, and I wonder how much money the event had paid just to get these names in the draw. I’m looking at Alcaraz not going deep every week of the year, and I wonder how much it has or could now hamper his appearance fee standards. I’m looking at Alexander Zverev’s South America swing and wonder how much he could hope to secure to go there next year after that display. That was the ultimate power of the Avengers: they were delivering on and off the court. They could ask this amount of money because they’d still be there for the semi-finals and finals every freaking time. They would also be there for the fans and the sponsors and whatnot. There was no bad surprise. You paid them, you made your money back, or you reached your publicity goals. No risk.
IS THE AVENGERS’ MONEY STILL IN THE ROOM WITH US?
Nowadays? I’d say only Sinner and Alcaraz could have the same pull, but it was before Sinner’s ban and before Alcaraz showing he’s maybe not going to be the guy to end in the final every time (yet, he for sure now is able to ask for a lot of money to an event like Barcelona and will be a top name for Saudi Arabia). Nick Kyrgios for sure was up there when these events thought he’d be somehow reliable. On the women's side? The logical picks would be Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Qinwen Zheng, and Aryna Sabalenka, soon to be joined by Mirra Andreeva, and in the US, Madison Keys. Bianca Andreescu could have landed there, health willing. But again, can they still pretend to keep the Williamses and Sharapova standard fees?
Also, imagine if Novak Djokovic was still willing and able to play his usual number of tournaments nowadays. Was willing and able to sign for these exhibitions? He would crash the bank. He would leave crumbles to 99% of the field. So, of course, the retirement of nearly all the Avengers has freed some appearance fees budget, but I also wonder if tournaments won’t prefer or are already deciding to pop that bubble and have players return to Earth.
The point is: there’s never been more money in the game regarding the prize money, but I’m not sure how much tournaments are still ready to pay today to make sure they have this or that player in their draws. But also, maybe Saudi Arabia will change the landscape and agree to pay a crazy amount of money for players that elsewhere wouldn’t be able to dream of getting the usual Avengers fees. So I will report back when I have the answers!
QUESTION OF THE DAY
MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO
I’m heartbroken for all the Ukrainian players who are now playing this US swing with what’s going on. The Athletic wrote about it here. I hope the Tour is doing what it can to make these players’ lives a bit easier during the weeks to come. I’d call for tennis to openly show them more support, but, well…
I read that very good piece from
a few days ago and this line really stayed with me. We know it’s real, but I think sometimes you need to be reminded of that professional tennis pitfall: “Another alarming phenomenon is the transformation of children into financial investments.”Barbara Schett really went for it when talking about the Stefano Vukov - Elena Rybakina situation. Good to see people from the sport starting to talk. “He abused her mentally,” she said, among other things.
Barbora Krejcikova still can’t play this year, and it’s sad. A back injury is still plaguing the Czech’s start of the season, so she won’t appear on the court in Indian Wells or Miami. I love her game and think tennis needs her around. Such a pity…
BUSINESS/MEDIA
Leylah and Frances, please welcome Lewis! In a pretty big sports fashion news, Lewis Hamilton announced he was now an ambassador for Lululemon. He’s not just about his Dior, okay. And now I’m here waiting for the collab with the brand’s tennis players. Like, please, you know tennis fashion’s profile needs help these days. By the way, ON, what are you doing with that Zendaya x Iga situation that I’m still waiting for? Anyway, Lewis x Lululemon > Nike x K… Not even a match.
Iga Swiatek’s revamped her official site (https://igaswiatek.com/), and they already won by figuring baby Iga as an opening video. I also like the “rec” section with the books and all. It feels refreshing for a professional athlete's website. I asked her new head of communication, Daria Sulgostowska, about the reasoning behind the revamp. Here was her answer: “The website is simply another channel of communication with tennis fans and sport enthusiasts. It gives the chance to show the athletes not only from their professional perspective, but also as a human being. It's actually also 100% Iga's space on the internet. When you are gaining worldwide recognition because of your sports career, you are also gaining the unique opportunity to influence causes that are deeply important to you. So the website is also a platform to share such activities with other people and spread out the messages you would like to raise your voice about.”
The WTA launched its new branding campaign, or rebranding campaign, Rally the World. I am conflicted because I loved the purple previously used and personally don’t like the green they chose. I can get around with the new tagline, but I also don’t feel it’s groundbreaking. Not sure about the logo either. But yeah, for me, it’s a lot of this green that just attacks my eyes. I still praise them for regularly making the effort to reimagine the brand and not letting go of the female boss vibe. I would honestly prefer to see more WTA players taking some initiatives in fighting for women’s athletes and women’s rights and less branding and buzz words. The world they live in is at a crossroads, and they have big enough platforms to put their voices out there and help. The little girls with big dreams nowadays need their voices more than their branding campaigns.
IMG is TKO for good this time. The acquisition is final, it’s been announced. Let’s see what it will mean for Miami and Madrid, as it was said last year that these assets could be on sale.
Indian Wells signs a new deal for its surface. It could be a massive change, we’ll see about that! Laykold is now the official surface provider of the BNP Paribas Open. “Laykold’s courts deliver 10 x greater consistency than the accepted industry standard. By fine-tuning court speed to within 0.5 points, Laykold’s scientists and expert installers will bring the most consistent courts in tennis history,” swears the tournament. They used Plexipave for 25 years, so it’s a big gamble here. The 2025 edition should then see faster courts, which could prove tricky for players in a setup where the balls tend to fly and are tough to control.
SOME BREAK POINTS…
While we were raving about Jiri Lehecka or Jakub Mensik as the new gems of Czech tennis, someone called Tomas Machac said Hold my beer. The 24-year-old has now entered the Top 20 following the title he clinched - his first one - in Acapulco, and he has proven a steady value since the start of 2025. I didn’t see that coming! Also, could Czech tennis start to share its gems? Asking for a French friend.
Stefanos Tsitsipas showed the first signs of a return to his best when he won his first ATP 500 in Dubai against Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was playing his third final of the year already. Talking about Dubai, I was happy to see Marin Cilic coming back this strong (he made the quarters after beating De Minaur and Popyrin, lost in three sets against FAA): If he stays healthy, he really could be a disruptor again this year. I had a chat with him in Paris last year about why he came back again after that knee surgery if you’re interested. Laslo Djere returns to the Top 100 thanks to his title in Santiago.
Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro clinched wins for US tennis in Austin and Merida.
Jannik Sinner has been declared ineligible for the Laureus Awards. And that quote from Darren Cahill about how Sinner is reacting to his situation totally matches what Riccardo Piatto told me about the guy. And so you can guess what he feels about that Laureus Awards thing.
Angelique Kerber is the new sporting director of the WTA 500 of Bad Homburg. Who is the tournament director? Her manager, Aljoscha Thron.
EDITOR’S PICKS
READ:
Shameless plug: I talked with legendary Italian coach Riccardo Piatti (Ljubicic, Djokovic, Raonic, Gasquet, Sharapova, Sinner, etc.) about today’s game, the lack of recovery for the mind, his take on Sinner as someone who built his game, and how players shouldn’t depend on coaches for everything. It’s always nice to chat about the game, as sometimes we tend to be caught up in what’s all around it.
Reem Abulleil caught up with Matteo Berrettini in Dubai, coming from Doha, where he beat Novak Djokovic on the way.
WATCH: Who has forgotten this viral tennis moment? And how come it was already 20 years ago?! Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, and the helipad in Dubai.
Wow, awesome piece Tennis Sweet Spot! Congrats on your 10 year anniversary! Sound like such a beautiful place and even with a golf course to boot!❤️🎉🎉🥳
Terrific post, especially the description of the vibe at Indian Wells… you nailed it