Mixed doubles money boom
Indian Wells dramatically ramped up mixed-doubles stakes for 2026 — prize money jumped from roughly $370K to $1M and the draw expanded from 12 to 16 teams — part of a clear push for parity and commercial growth. The tournament also staged the $200K Eisenhower Cup exhibition (won by Taylor Fritz and Alina Rybakina), underscoring the event’s beefed-up commercial calendar Men’s Semifinals Preview & Quarterfinals Analysis | 2026 Indian Wells.
The mixed-doubles entry list for Indian Wells includes Venus Williams, Maria Sakkari, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov and Leylah Fernandez, according to tournament reporting. frontofficesports.com Organizers framed the move as an effort to keep singles stars around into the tournament’s second week, a strategy tournament coverage says is modeled in part on the US Open’s $1M mixed-doubles experiment in 2025. tennisuptodate.com The Eisenhower Cup was run as a Tie Break Tens exhibition on March 3, 2026, featuring eight teams and a $200,000 prize pool that Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina defended successfully. sportskeeda.com BNP Paribas Open organizers added a Mixed Doubles Invitational on Court 6 (scheduled March 10–14) and rolled out lower-cost early-day ticketing as part of an expanded onsite commercial calendar. bnpparibasopen.com
