Indian Wells 2009: Only the Name Has Changed??

A new sponsor and the same amazing event.

For a while there it looked like they’d just have to call it plain old Indian Wells in 2009, but now the tournament has a new sponsor and a new name. We’ve gone from a big insurance company to a big bank, and a French bank at that, with the motto “The Bank for a Changing World.” And who knows what that may actually mean, but we can hope for the best.

So now it’s the BNP Paribas Open. (say “par ee baa”). Click to see the website–it’s in French! (Click Here.) They already sponsor another Masters Series event, the one in Paris in November, so that seems like a good sign. Then again who thought Citibank could go from $55 to $1 a share? But the bottom line, it’s fantastic to see a new major corporate sponsor–because I want to keep coming to this event for a while longer.

New Signage

I’m hoping for some nice, deep green backgrounds, like the BNP logo.

So how will the event change? Well, the one thing that will be different for sure is all the signage around the courts – and therefore all the…