I did Indian Wells a few years ago. Loved it. I was there for two days. My thoughts are that you can always find a pretty good match. I got ground pass one day and reserved in stadium one day. There are premier matches in the stadiums you can see with that ground pass. I also went for the second Monday, or Sunday before so you get 3rd and 4th round matches- I got to see Rafa, Roger, Osaka, and a boatload of others using that strategy. Not all the stars get the stadiums in the earlier rounds. Get there early to get in. Pay attention to the sun and your seat. If you are in the sun in the late afternoon it will be HOT. It's the desert. Palm Springs is fun and you are about 45 minutes from Joshua Tree as well!

My strategy is to get Daytime Stadium 1 tickets for the second Tuesday. These are 4th round matches, so usually higher seeded players playing each other. Stadium 1 tickets let you see any match on any court. If you go later on in the week, then stadium seats get more expensive and there are fewer matches to watch, so I think that Tuesday is a sweet spot if you want to see some good tennis and don't necessarily need to be there for the semis or finals.

You can still buy tickets for next Tuesday today, so no need to get them far in advance. We just buy them at the tournament website. If you do want tickets for the final rounds, look at the packages they offer on the website.

The shadiest seats in Stadium 1 are sections 407 to 411.

For places to stay, we like to be in Palm Springs downtown so we can walk around when we're not watching tennis and be near a variety of restaurants. It's an easy drive to Indian Wells from there.

Based on 2024 I would assume that it will start on March 5 2025.

Qualies which were free to watch when I was last there in 2022 will probably start on the Sunday 2 March.

Tickets are very easy to get. Register for their mailing list and they will let you know when tickets go on sale. Stadium 1 is the only court where you need to buy a specific ticket, there are lots of open seats accessed with a ground pass on stadium 2 and courts 3 to 9.

There are lots of practice courts where you can watch the players with a ground pass. I am from England and travel workdwide to watch tennis. Indian Wells is wonderful. Australian Open is a great tournament with wonderful facilities. Monte Carlo is iconic.

I think it is a week earlier this year due to the Olympics so next year maybe March 9

Stadium 1 tickets do NOT allow you into Stadium 2 or Stadium 3. This is different from years past. You need separate purchased seats for Stadiums 2 & 3.

Not correct. I have gone the last 3 years. Stadium 1 tickets get you into that stadium along with upper level stadium 2 which is a smaller stadium and seats are great and stadium 3 along with all other courts. Stadium 3 does have some reserved seats, but most seats are free. You also have access to all other courts.

We went last Friday and Saturday for the 2nd round and had the best time. It’s great to see the top players on court 1, but quite honestly, our best experience was watching matches on the outer courts. We watched a slugfest between Coric and Struff not more than 10 feet away from the action. We also watched great matches on court 3. Top of my list was being 5-6 rows up baseline on court 3 watching Monfils defeat Hurkacz. The outer courts usually have better matches in the earlier rounds.

Just checked the official site and the dates are March 3-16, 2025. I'm looking to go for the first time too.

thanks everyone for your replies! all very helpful :)