Ticket prices rise as Serena returns to Paribas Open

ORGANISERS of BNP Paribas Open are in a joyful mood with Serena Williams’ impending return to the tournament. On February 4, just days after winning the 2015 Australian Open, Serena accepted a wild card into this year’s BNP Paribas Open, ending a 14-year boycott of the tournament.  

  The BNP Paribas Open, the largest ATP World Tour and WTA combined two-week event in the world, is to be held this year from March 9 to 22, 2015 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. But this event has lacked the sport’s WTA biggest star for well over a decade. And with news of Serena’s return, demand for tickets have gone up as well as the prices of tickets, which have gone up to as much as 20 per cent compared to last year.  

  Ticket prices are already showing the ‘Serena effect’ as the tournament draws closer. Tickets for the men and women’s finals on March 22 currently sell at $145 per ticket and it is expected to rise even more when the tournament starts. If the American maintains her winning ways on court and gets to the finals, ticket prices would go through the roof. 

  Serena, a two-time Champion at the BNP Paribas Open (1999, 2001), is heavily favoured by prognosticators to lift the trophy.

  In other news, Serena has withdrawn from the ongoing Dubai Tennis Championships, citing lingering effects of an upper respiratory illness sustained during the Australian Open last month. 

  She was replaced by Coco Vandeweghe during her Fed Cup match against Argentina, last weekend. Her sister, Venus, said there is nothing to worry about and Serena just needed to regroup and feel better before playing again.