Indian Wells 2016 Prize Money: Complete Purse and Earnings
One of the most anticipated tennis tournaments of the year outside of the Grand Slams is the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. This year's event will take place between March 9-20 and will feature many of the top players in the world all gunning for a lucrative top prize.
The overall purse for both the men's and women's events is $6,134,605, per WTATennis.com and ATPWorldTour.com, while the winning share for each of the singles champions will be $1,028,300.
Here is the full breakdown of the purse payouts:
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| Winner | 1,000 | $1,028,300 |
| Finals | 600 | $501,815 |
| Semi-Finals | 360 | $251,500 |
| Quarter FInals | 180 | $128,215 |
| Round 16 | 90 | $67,590 |
| Round 32 | 45 | $36,170 |
| Round 64 | 25 | $19,530 |
| R96 | 10 | $11,970 |
| Qualifier | 16 | - |
| Qualifier 3 | 0 | - |
| Qualifier 2 | 8 | $3,565 |
| Qualifier 1 | 0 | $1,825 |
Novak Djokovic, who has won the past two Indian Wells tournaments and is already 16-1 on the year with triumphs at the ExxonMobil Open and the Australian Open, will be the clear favorite on the men's side.
Djokovic has ascended to the top of the tennis world, above even rivals Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, and legends of the past are singing his praises now, too.
"He's the best in the world and it's impressive," former star Pete Sampras said of Djokovic, per Chris Murphy of CNN. "He's so good, moves so well, has the whole package. Mentally, physically he's so strong. You can tell that he's so focused on being the best in the world and he's dominating at a time when the game is strong. His run in the last couple of years has been incredible."
Indeed, Djokovic has won five of the last seven Grand Slam tournaments dating back to Wimbledon in 2014. He has left little room for hope in tennis' biggest tournaments, including Indian Wells.
And former players are feeling the weight of Djokovic's dominance, per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times:
At this point, Federer seems the most likely to unseat Djokovic in Indian Wells, but even that feels like a long shot at this point.
On the women's side, meanwhile, the biggest story of the week has been Maria Sharapova's admission that she tested positive for a banned substance, meldonium, and has been suspended. Sharapova last won the tournament in 2013.
The favorite, as always, will be Serena Williams. The top player in the women's game hasn't won this tournament since 2001, though she didn't compete in the tournament between 2002-14. She reached the semifinals at Indian Wells last year, though rust could play a factor, as she hasn't competed since losing to Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open final.
Kerber will certainly be a top contender, while 2015 Indian Wells champion Simona Halep will be in the running. And Agnieszka Radwanska has been on a hot streak since the fall of 2015 as well, winning four titles in that time and reaching the semifinals in the Australian Open.
While the men's draw feels like Djokovic's to lose barring a run of hot form from one of the big four or a player like Stan Wawrinka, the women's draw feels wide open. Both draws should feature plenty of exciting tennis at one of the biggest early tournaments of the year.
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