Tips to have the best BNP Paribas Open experience at Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Sports columnist Shad Powers and reporter Andrew John offer four tips to newcomers attending the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Indian Wells, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2024
There’s the old joke that tennis is the least romantic sport because love means nothing, but someone needs to tell that to young Hollywood.
A celebrity sighting at the BNP Paribas Open isn’t rare, but for the second straight year a young couple has significantly increased the star wattage of the celebrity sightings and decreased the age.
During Sunday afternoon’s action, actor Timothee Chalamet and beau Kylie Jenner were spotted in a suite, canoodling and watching some tennis. Jenner’s sister, Kendall, was in the box too as the Jenner-Kardashian family does own a home in the area. This comes two months after Chalamet was in town for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, receiving an award at the red carpet gala with Jenner on his arm backstage.
And all this comes a year after young actorly couple Zendaya and Tom Holland were spotted in Indian Wells, chilling in a suite and watching some tennis and even taking time to autograph some hats and tennis balls that were thrown to them. Zendaya, who linked up with champion Iga Swiatek for a few pointers later in the day, was there to promote her tennis-based film “Challengers” which was a big hit in 2024.
You can count on reliable celebrities at the BNP Paribas Open every year like Ben Stiller, Charlize Theron Will Ferrell, Mike Tyson and Bill Gates, but these past two years have shown that even the 20-something set is tuned into tennis. Perhaps the sport is having a coolness rebirth.
Zendaya and Tom in 2024. Timothee and Kylie in 2025. I guess the tennis ball’s in your court for 2026 Taylor and Travis. We’ll see you in tennis paradise.
Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.