Indian Wells, Calif., October 6, 2009 -- The BNP Paribas Open will hold its fourth annual Challenge tournament, a two-stage event that begins with the 64-player women’s and men’s draw Challenge Round, February 12-15, 2010, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, it was announced today by tournament director Steve Simon. 

The Challenge Round matches will be the best of three sets with a 10-point Match Tie-break to be played for the third set. The finalists from the Challenge Round will advance to the Pre-Qualifier scheduled for March 6-7, 2010, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The Pre-Qualifier will feature a women’s draw consisting of two Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players and the two women’s Challenge Round finalists and a men’s draw consisting of two ATP World Tour players and the two men’s Challenge Round finalists. Each match will be the best of three sets with a seven-point Tie-break to be played for any set reaching six-all.

The women’s and men’s champions of the Pre-Qualifier will receive wildcards into the BNP Paribas Open Qualifying draws which will begin on March 8th (WTA) and 9th (ATP).

“This is an exciting and fun event for us, as it provides the opportunity for any player with a dream of competing at the highest level of professional tennis the chance to qualify,” said Simon.  “We invite all tennis fans to come watch the excitement and competitive spirit these players will show in attempting to reach their dreams of playing at the BNP Paribas Open.”

For information, or to enter, visit www.bnpparibasopen.org and click News or call (760) 200-8200. All entry forms and fees must be received by Friday, February 5, 2010.

About the BNP Paribas Open
The first major tennis event of the season on U.S. soil, the BNP Paribas Open features more than 300 of the world’s best men and women tennis players and last year more than 330,000 people attended the event. Tickets are available by logging onto www.bnpparibasopen.org, calling the Indian Wells box office, 800-999-1585 or 760-200-8000, or visiting the box office, 78-200 Miles Avenue, Indian Wells, CA 92210.

About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is a European leader in global banking and financial services and is one of the 3 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor’s. The group is present in 85 countries, with more than 171,000 employees, including 131.000 in Europe. The group holds key positions in three major segments: Corporate and Investment Banking, Asset Management & Services and Retail Banking. Present throughout Europe in all of its business lines, the bank’s two domestic markets in retail banking are France and Italy. BNP Paribas also has a significant presence in the United States and strong positions in Asia and the emerging markets.

About BNP Paribas and Tennis
In 2008, BNP Paribas celebrated the 35th anniversary of its association with the tennis world. Since 1973, BNP Paribas has been actively involved in this sport, regularly increasing its support – both locally and internationally, for families, schools and the community.

Historically, BNP Paribas has had a special relationship with every facet of the tennis world: official global sponsor of Roland Garros for 35 years, sponsor of the Davis Cup since 2001, of the Fed Cup since 2005 and since the acquisition of BNL in 2006, the "Internazionali BNL d'Italia", as well as actively supporting numerous other international competitions (WTA Bank of the West Classic in California, the Monte Carlo Masters Series, BNP Paribas Strasbourg Women's Open, Grand Prix de Lyon, etc.). BNP Paribas also supports tennis locally in France, and is involved in more than 550 tournaments, including the BNP Paribas family trophy, various training programmes set up by the French Tennis Federation and Yannick Noah’s “Fête le Mur” association.