The Indian Wells Masters, one of the biggest tennis events outside the four Grand Slams, has announced a record level of retail sales for its 2026 tournament, as its merchandise partnership with premium experiences company Legends continues to pay off.
It is the fourth year in a row that Legends has broken its sales record, this year posting a 36% increase on last year’s total.
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The percentage bump was supported by a 14% rise in average transactional value, a 25% increase in merchandise per cap, and a 9% growth in capture rate, all of which surpassed last year’s performance records.
Michael Quirk, chief commercial officer of merchandise at Legends Global, has said: “Alongside the BNP Paribas Open, we take immense pride in enhancing the retail experience year after year at one of the world’s premier tennis events.
“Collaborating with a global and creative partner like Lululemon this year enabled us to create a shopping environment for fans that perfectly reflects a tournament defined by athletic excellence and continued innovation.”
The tournament, a combined ATP Masters 1000 (men’s) and WTA 1000 (women’s) event, is known commercially as the BNP Paribas Open and this year ran between March 4 and 15 at Indian Wells Gardens in California.
This year’s edition ended with Italy’s Jannik Sinner defeating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev on the men’s side, while Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka beat Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina in the women’s game.
For this year’s tournament, Legends' partner athletic apparel brand Lululemon became the new official apparel and footwear outfitter of Indian Wells – this move saw the brand pitch up a dedicated space for its brand within Legends’ shop to sell its curated merchandise line.
Legends first signed up as the event's merchandise provider in December 2022 and constructed an expansive retail shop spanning 27,000 square feet to house over 1,500 items from more than 50 brands and vendors.
This year’s edition saw the space feature a live DJ and 18 terminals for faster checkout speeds.
In the four years since taking over merchandise operations for the BNP Paribas Open, Legends Global has more than tripled merchandise sales revenue, increasing it by 227%. During this period, the company also raised merchandise per caps by $19, average transactional value by 59%, and capture rate by 93%.
