INDIAN WELLS, Calif., January 11, 2016 – Registration for the 2016 BNP Paribas Challenge, the pre-qualifying event for the BNP Paribas Open, begins today and will run through Friday, February 19. The Challenge is slated for February 29 - March 5 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Last year’s event boasted the largest draw in the event’s history with more than 200 participants seeking wildcard berths into the BNP Paribas Open Qualifying tournament.

First through quarterfinal round matches will be best of three sets with a 10-point match tiebreak played for the third set, while semifinal and final matches will be best of three sets. To enter, visit http://www. bnpparibasopen.com/en/event-info/bnp-paribas-challenge.The e… fee is $50.
All entries and fees must be received by Friday, February 19. For more information, please contact Tom Fey, Director of Tennis at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden at 760-200-8200 or tfey@iwtg.net.

About the BNP Paribas Open

The BNP Paribas Open is the largest ATP World Tour and WTA combined two-week event in the world, and is held annually at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The site has undergone a significant expansion that includes a new permanent Stadium 2 with 8,000  seats and three restaurants, including world-renowned Nobu; four more practice courts, an additional 19,000  square foot shade structure, and more. The tournament offers more than $10 million in prize money, and is the only event to provide the Hawkeye line challenge system on all match courts, including qualifying rounds. In 2015, more than 456,000  people attended the event. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www. bnpparibasopen.com, call 800-999-1585 or visit the Indian Wells Tennis Garden box office at 78-200 Miles Avenue, Indian Wells, CA, 92 210.

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas has operations in 75 countries and boasts more than 185,000  employees, including approximately 145,000  in Europe. It ranks highly in its two core activities: Retail Banking & Services (comprised of Domestic Markets and International Financial Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across Mediterranean basin countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia-Pacific.