How to Watch the 2026 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells

The 2026 BNP Paribas Open is the second major tournament of the annual tennis calendar, and it’s about to get underway in Indian Wells, California. The outdoor hard-court tournament at Indian Wells Tennis Garden is one of the best-attended events outside of the Grand Slams, featuring men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Wondering how to watch 2026 BNP Paribas Open from March 4-15? Here’s your complete guide to catching every serve, ace and fault of the tournament.

You can watch the BNP Paribas Open and other major tennis events throughout the year right on DIRECTV. Get started today!

When Is the 2026 BNP Paribas Open?

The 2026 BNP Paribas Open officially kicked off on March 4th with the men’s and women’s first round.

The tournament wraps up with both the men’s and women’s singles finals on Sunday, March 15th.

How to Watch the 2026 BNP Paribas Open

Fans can catch all the action on the Tennis Channel (DIRECTV Channel 217), the exclusive U.S. home of the BNP Paribas Open, or on the Tennis Channel App. Coverage begins at 10 a.m. daily.

Players to Watch at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open

The BNP Paribas Open attracts the top tennis players from around the world. Here are the top contenders to keep an eye on during the tournament.

Men’s Singles

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz enters Indian Wells fresh off becoming the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam, winning his first Australian Open in January. He enters on a 12-match winning streak and knows Indian Wells well, having won back-to-back titles here in 2023 and 2024.

Alcaraz has had an eventful 2026. The Australian Open title came after he made news by parting ways with longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero following a seven-year partnership that produced six major championships. Alcaraz is now solely coached by Samuel Lopez and has repeatedly expressed faith in his current team. That faith appeared well-placed in Melbourne.

Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner was the only player to make the final of all four Grand Slam events in 2025, winning Australia and Wimbledon. The 24-year-old already has 24 career titles and has won five ATP Masters 1000 hard-court tournaments. The one tournament that has eluded him: the BNP Paribas Open.

The coldest take is predicting a Sinner-Alcaraz final, but they’ve completed for three of their last four Grand Slams and Alcaraz enters as the two-time defending champion at Indian Wells. It feels inevitable Sinner will need to go through his frequent foe for his first title. But crazier things have happened in Tennis Paradise.

Novak Djokovic

At 38, Djokovic continues to be among the very best in tennis. He has reached at least the semifinals in the last five Grand Slams, including the finals in Australia, where he narrowly missed claiming his 11th career Australian Open title. Djokovic is a five-time Indian Wells champion, including three straight titles from 2014 to 2016, though he has not reached the quarterfinals here since. Still, his level of play makes him a factor in every tournament he enters.

Taylor Fritz

A native of Rancho Santa Fe, California, Indian Wells is about as close to a home game as it gets for Taylor Fritz. In 2022, he claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title here in one of the more memorable finals in recent memory. Battling a serious ankle injury, Fritz went against the advice of his coaches and took the court against Rafael Nadal. The gutsy performance earned him a permanent place in the lore of Indian Wells.

Fritz continues to build on that legacy. He served 867 aces last season more than anyone else on tour. And his year-end world ranking of No. 4 is not only a career high, but the highest year-end ranking for an American man since James Blake in 2006.

Jack Draper

Jack Draper put on a show at last year’s BNP Paribas Open. The 24-year-old Brit strung together upset wins over Taylor Fritz in a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 victory, then did the same to Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-5, before culminating with an upset of two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. He then rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the final to claim his first ATP Masters 1000 title.

Draper was scratched from the 2026 Australian Open while recovering from a bruised bone in his left arm. Indian Wells marks his first chance to take the court in 2026 and he returns to where the magic began.

Lorenzo Musetti

Musetti enters the BNP Paribas Open on the cusp of a breakout. He ended 2025 as the eighth ranked men’s player in the world and started the year up two sets on Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open quarterfinals before he needed to retire with a right leg injury.

Cleared to play at Indian Wells, Musetti is coming off his best year as a pro with semifinal appearances at the French Open, Madrid Open and Italian open and a quarterfinals appearance at the US Open.

Musetti fell in three sets to Arthur Fils in the third round of the 2025 BNP Paribas Open.

Ben Shelton

Shelton has put together the best stretch of his career. In 2025, he posted career bests at both the Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 levels. He reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, the quarterfinals here in Indian Wells, the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, the quarterfinals in Paris and took home his first career win at the Canadian Open.

The 23-year-old from Atlanta brings a rare blend of power and speed to tennis that has earned him the nickname “Box Office Ben” for his electric performances in victory and defeat alike. He’s also riding momentum into Indian Wells, having won the 2026 Dallas Open. He saved three match points against Taylor Fritz in the finals to overcome a one-set deficit for his second career title.

Women’s Singles

Coco Gauff

Gauff finished 2025 as the No. 3 women’s player in the world. She overcame the elements to win her first career French Open and claimed the Wuhan Open for her 11th career singles title. She reached the semifinals at Indian Wells in 2024 and is off to one of her better starts in 2026, reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the semifinals at the Dubai Open. The BNP Paribas Open offers her a chance to carry that momentum forward.

Aryna Sabalenka

Sabalenka reached the finals of three Grand Slams in 2025, including a win to close out the year at the U.S. Open. She started 2026 with a finals appearance at the Australian Open before withdrawing late from both the Qatar and Dubai Championships due to a shoulder injury. The world No. 1 is a two-time Indian Wells finalist at a tournament she has surprisingly struggled with. Now healthy and well-rested, Sabalenka enters Indian Wells looking for her first title here.

Iga Swiatek

Swiatek is a two-time BNP Paribas Open champion, with her last title coming in 2024. In 2025, she added her first Wimbledon title and first Cincinnati Open title to her resume. She has bowed out in three straight quarterfinals coming into this tournament and also withdrew from the Dubai Championships. There’s no question the talent is there, the question is whether Indian Wells will see Swiatek back at her best.

Elena Rybakina

The world No. 3 and former Indian Wells champion, Rybakina is arguably the hottest player in women’s tennis right now. She won the WTA Finals at the end of 2025 and followed that up with her second career Grand Slam title at the 2026 Australian Open. Known as the “Ace Queen,” she reached the quarterfinals in Qatar and the third round in Dubai, but Indian Wells is where she’ll look to carry all of that momentum into a title run.

Mirra Andreeva

Andreeva enters as the defending champion, having become one of the first teenagers to win multiple WTA 1000 tournaments after taking home titles at both Dubai and the BNP Paribas Open. So far in 2026, she’s reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, the third round in Qatar and the quarterfinals in Dubai. In a limited sample size, Indian Wells is far and away her best tournament. No one is more excited to be heading back here than Andreeva, who first made waves at this event in 2024 when she reached the semifinals as a 16-year-old.

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2026 BNP Paribas Open Schedule

All matches are available exclusively on Tennis Channel, Tennis Channel 2 and the Tennis Channel app. Coverage begins at 10 AM daily.

Date	Session	Start Time	Matches	Where to Watch
Sun., Mar. 1	Day	10 a.m. ET	• Women’s Qualifying	Tennis Channel
Mon., Mar. 2	Day	10 a.m. ET	• Women’s Qualifying • Men’s Qualifying	Tennis Channel
Tue., Mar. 3	Day	10 a.m. ET	• Women’s Qualifying • Men’s Qualifying	Tennis Channel
Wed., Mar. 4	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s 1st Round • Men’s 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Wed., Mar. 4	Evening	6 p.m. ET	• Women’s 1st Round • Men’s 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Thu., Mar. 5	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 1st Round • Women’s Doubles 1st Round • Men’s Singles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Thu., Mar. 5	Evening	6 p.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 1st Round • Women’s Doubles 1st Round • Men’s Singles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Fri., Mar. 6	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 2nd Round • Women’s Doubles 1st Round • Men’s Singles 2nd Round	Tennis Channel
Fri., Mar. 6	Evening	6 p.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 2nd Round • Women’s Doubles 1st Round • Men’s Singles 2nd Round	Tennis Channel
Sat., Mar. 7	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 2nd Round • Women’s Doubles 1st Round • Men’s Singles 2nd Round	Tennis Channel
Sat., Mar. 7	Evening	6 p.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 2nd Round • Women’s Doubles 1st Round • Men’s Singles 2nd Round	Tennis Channel
Sun., Mar. 8	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 3rd Round • Women’s Doubles 2nd Round • Men’s Singles 3rd Round • Men’s Doubles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Sun., Mar. 8	Evening	6 p.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 3rd Round • Women’s Doubles 2nd Round • Men’s Singles 3rd Round • Men’s Doubles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Mon., Mar. 9	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 3rd Round • Women’s Doubles 2nd Round • Men’s Singles 3rd Round • Men’s Doubles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Mon., Mar. 9	Evening	6 p.m. ET	• Women’s Singles 3rd Round • Women’s Doubles 2nd Round • Men’s Singles 3rd Round • Men’s Doubles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Tue., Mar. 10	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Singles Round of 16 • Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals • Men’s Singles Round of 16 • Men’s Doubles 2nd Round • Mixed Doubles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Tue., Mar. 10	Evening	6 p.m. ET	• Women’s Singles Round of 16 • Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals • Men’s Singles Round of 16 • Men’s Doubles 2nd Round • Mixed Doubles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Wed., Mar. 11	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Singles Round of 16 • Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals • Men’s Singles Round of 16 • Mixed Doubles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Wed., Mar. 11	Evening	6 p.m. ET	• Women’s Singles Round of 16 • Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals • Men’s Singles Round of 16 • Mixed Doubles 1st Round	Tennis Channel
Thu., Mar. 12	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Singles Quarterfinals • Women’s Doubles Semifinals • Men’s Singles Quarterfinals • Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals • Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals	Tennis Channel
Thu., Mar. 12	Evening	5 p.m. ET	• Women’s Singles Quarterfinals • Women’s Doubles Semifinals • Men’s Singles Quarterfinals • Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals • Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals	Tennis Channel
Fri., Mar. 13	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Men’s Doubles Semifinals • Women’s Singles Semifinals • Mixed Doubles Final	Tennis Channel
Sat., Mar. 14	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Doubles Final • Men’s Singles Semifinals • Men’s Doubles Final	Tennis Channel
Sun., Mar. 15	Day	11 a.m. ET	• Women’s Singles Final • Men’s Singles Final	Tennis Channel

Who won the 2025 BNP Paribas Open?

The 2025 BNP Open was won by:

Men’s Singles: Jack Draper

Men’s Doubles: Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic

Women’s Singles: Mirra Andreeva

Women’s Doubles: Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs

Mixed Doubles: Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori

Watch the 2026 BNP Paribas Open on DIRECTV

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