Financial services company BNP Paribas has renewed its title sponsorship of the BNP Paribas Open tennis event by a further five years.
The new agreement covers the 2019 to 2023 editions of the event, making BNP Paribas the longest-running title sponsor in the tournament’s history.
The deal was signed yesterday (Sunday) as the men’s event concluded in Indian Wells, California. BNP Paribas has served as title sponsor of the event since 2009.
The agreement also includes the BNP Paribas Open Scholarship, a $15,000 (€12,000) grant which is awarded to two high-school students in the Coachella Valley. The initiative will be expanded in 2019 to include a third student.
“The title sponsorship of the BNP Paribas Open has proved itself a success and continues to deliver a level of quality that aligns with BNP Paribas’ values,” Jean-Yves Fillion, chief executive of BNP Paribas USA, said.
“The event has expanded immensely, and along with Bank of the West led by Nandita Bakhshi, we look forward to being part of its ongoing growth. Our engagement with the event reflects our business commitment to California and throughout the US where we employ 16,000 people; and to the sport of tennis where we are recognised as one of the leading global sponsors.”
The BNP Paribas Open is one of the leading non-grand slam events on the men’s ATP and women’s WTA tours, with an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier designation. This year’s titles were won by Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro (pictured) and Naomi Osaka of the US.
Tournament director Tommy Haas said: “Our goal is to keep refining, improving and expanding this world-class event, and having a partner that embraces that vision is incredibly important. We look forward to continuing to work with BNP Paribas in the coming years to build upon the great foundation we have laid together over the past decade.”
BNP Paribas is also the title sponsor of the Davis and Fed Cup national team tournaments, and holds partnerships with the French Open, Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and WTA Finals Singapore events.