Miami Open Facing Challenges to Keep Pace with Indian Wells

The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells has become an oasis in the desert. Meanwhile, Miami's preeminent tennis tournament has suffered some beach-style erosion. 

The two most prestigious non-Grand Slam tournaments appear to be heading in opposite directions—something the Miami contingent will work to correct. Each year Indian Wells gets better. Despite efforts to keep pace, Miami currently can't boast the same prestige.

The tournaments used to compete for the status as "The Fifth Slam." If Miami is unable to adjust, the China Open in Beijing might be a more formidable competitor for Indian Wells.

Located in Crandon Park on the island of Key Biscayne, the Miami Open offers players and fans access to the South Beach nightlife. The venue is nestled among plush tropical plants and surrounded by beautiful blue water. 

It used to be the hottest ticket outside of the Slams. 

Recently, as other tournaments—especially those in Asia—improved, Miami has been trying to keep up. Last year, French player Paul Henri Mathieu tweeted his thoughts on the matter: 

What happened? Conflict happened.

Recognizing the tournament's estimated economic impact of $380 million, in 2012, Miami-Dade County voters approved a referendum that would allow $50 million in development. The International Player's Championship Inc., the company that runs the tournament, planned to use the money for improvements and renovation.

Tournament officials still needed to clear another hurdle: opposition from Bruce Matheson, a descendant of the family that agreed to public use of the 808-acre park. Matheson is against the proposal and has gone to battle with IMG, the parent company of IPC.

Tournament organizers had argued in court that Matheson had no right to stand in the way of the badly needed upgrades. 

In September 2014, a judge sided with Matheson, backing a 1993 agreement he had with the county. Tournament organizers are going over options. 

Meanwhile, they've sought to improve the tournament in other ways. This year, the tournament will include a week-long beach party, including a high-end fashion show and professional beach-volleyball exhibition, featuring three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings.

The second week of the tournament will feature celebrity chefs in "The Taste of the Open."  

The tournament has enhanced picnic seating, as well as created a beach area befitting the tournament's locale. 

These changes show a dedicated effort to enhance the experience and come on the heels of a major sponsorship change. 

In 2014, Sony ended its seven-year run as the tournament's primary sponsor. The new sponsor, Itau, a Brazilian-based bank, signed a five-year deal. The official sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Itau has a long sports-sponsorship history. 

However, instead of calling the tournament the Itau Open, the organizers decided to go with Miami. That's how most players identify the tournament anyway. It also allows tournament organizers to solidify the Miami Open brand, complete with new logo. 

A name change and new logo will help develop the brand, but ultimately aren't enough to change any perception that Miami has fallen behind Indian Wells. Given how close these tournaments are scheduled, comparisons are inevitable. 

Until this year, for well-documented personal reasons, Serena Williams had boycotted Indian Wells. This diminished that tournament's women's draw. 

Roger Federer has missed Miami two of the past three years. In an interview with Tennis.com, Federer criticized the scheduling of back-to-back Masters 1000 tournaments. 

"The week in between Indian Wells and Miami is always a wasted week—in my opinion—for me...So I'd rather use that for some more time off, some more practice, maybe play another tournament."

Through no fault of its own, Miami is on the wrong end of the schedule. Even though his absence hurts either way, Federer went on to affirm his decision had nothing to do with the Florida tournament itself: "As you can see, the players love coming here, as long as it's working well, and it's successful and the fans enjoy it and the players do [too], nothing needs to be changed." 

In order to enhance the appeal of Miami, tennis journalist Ed McGrogan suggested a switch from hard courts to the Har-Tru Eastern clay used at the WTA's Family Circle Cup and on so many recreational courts throughout the U.S.: 

"

Instead of ending a long hard-court slog, Miami could become the kickoff of the clay-court season. For that reason, I believe a surface switch would go over well with players, particularly those from South America who grew up on clay and receive tremendous support from the Latin-heavy crowds in Miami.

"

Slow clay in fast-paced Miami?

Meanwhile, Indian Wells has developed into a retreat-like, desert spa resort that just happens to put on a major tennis tournament. 

Bolstered by Oracle founder Larry Ellison's money and commitment, Indian Wells drew a record 431,527 attendees to the event last year. That's more than 100,000 more than Miami.

Last year, ATP players voted Indian Wells the best Masters 1000 tournament. Novak Djokovic told ATP Staff what he liked most about the Indian Wells atmosphere.

“I always have a fun time. There are a lot of golf courses around, and it’s very peaceful with great restaurants and great facilities, a lot of people come to watch, enjoy and support you playing tennis and the conditions are good.”

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

With the addition of upscale dining and comfortable seating around practice courts, Indian Wells has become more luxurious—something Miami will look to emulate to avoid losing any luster.

As the number of American-based tournaments decline and other tournaments grow in stature, you wonder how long two big-time tournaments can coexist positioned so close in the schedule.

They've survived for years, many of which saw the two receiving equal billing. For now, Indian Wells is clearly the bigger, better tournament, but there's no telling if Miami's recent efforts will change that.

As the desert tournament continues to rise, will the gap between the events grow or will the beach-side venue catch up?

Editor's note: Information regarding recent changes at the Miami Open has been added to this piece since it was originally published.