Tennis Paradise

Last weekend, I traveled back to the desert to watch the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. I went during the semi-finals matches, and was lucky enough to witness the world number one and world number two playing. That’s a first! My biggest tip for going to Tennis Paradise is to wait to buy tickets until the day of the event. People tend to buy their tickets very early, then cannot attend so they resell. We found pretty reasonable tickets for less than $300 for the semi-finals. Usually, these tickets would be around $400-500.

Welcome to Tennis Paradise

During this trip, we ended up staying about an hour away at my friend’s house in Yucca Valley. It’s incredibly peaceful out there, and very remote. It’s the entryway to Joshua Tree National Park. However, if you want to stay closer to the tournament, I’d recommend Palm Springs. Prices will be more elevated during the tournament, but a little more reasonable than if you stayed in La Quinta or Indian Wells. Palm Springs is about a 40 minute drive from Indian Wells, but I have yet to encounter any traffic on the way to the site. I love the Kimpton Rowan in downtown Palm Springs. It’s right on the main thoroughfare, and the neighborhood is very walkable. If you’re able to plan at least half a year in advance, I’d recommend booking your hotel right away. This way you can get better deals, before prices skyrocket.

Now onto the tournament. We were so lucky to see Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in the first semi-final. There was an insane heatwave in the desert, with temps climbing up to 95 degrees! I was sweating in places that I never knew that I could sweat. I had to take multiple breaks throughout the match to cool off. While hot, it was also a great time to drink a refreshing rose.

The second semi-final was Carlos Alcaraz (world number one) against Daniil Medvedev. It’s becoming a habit to see Medvedev in Tennis Paradise. We all thought that Alcaraz would win, but in the end Medvedev took the win. I really enjoyed watching this game despite the heat.

I can’t wait until next year’s tournament!

Sunset in Palm Springs