Preceding the Miami Open, it is the first event of the "Sunshine Double" — a series of two elite, consecutive hard court tournaments in the United States in early spring.

Indian Wells lies in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area), about 125 miles (201 km) east of downtown Los Angeles.

[4] After the 2013 BNP Paribas Open, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden started an expansion and upgrade of its facilities that includes a new 8,000 seat Stadium 2.

[13] Venus and Serena Williams refused to play the Indian Wells tournament from 2001 to 2014 despite threats of financial sanctions and ranking point penalties.

Nine days later, while attending the Ericsson Open, Richard Williams, Serena and Venus's father, stated racial slurs were directed at him while in the stands at Indian Wells.

"[16] Indian Wells tournament director Charlie Pasarell said he was humiliated by the crowd's reaction, adding, "I was cringing when all that stuff was going on.

"[17] After a phone call from Larry Ellison (the multi-billionaire founder of Oracle, tennis enthusiast and most recent owner of the tournament), Serena Williams returned to Indian Wells in 2015, ending her 14-year boycott of the event.