"Welcome to Tennis Paradise"

The first thing you see when you enter the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens above the Pedestrian Tunnel are letters that spell out the phrase “Welcome to Tennis Paradise.” I would come to learn how true this statement was over the next 48 hours.

I’m a tennis fan, but not the biggest one. I love watching the Grand Slam events when they’re on TV, but I don't find myself tuning into the Tennis Channel for hours like I do for golf. Although after attending this event, that is about to change.

First of all, having a tennis tournament in Palm Springs in March is a great idea. There’s not many places that are better to be during this time of year. The weather was beautiful in the mid to low 70s, cooling off at night so you could stay out longer.

Secondly, the food was amazing. My mom and I found this stand from a restaurant called Chef Tanya’s Kitchen and it was so good. Literally went there three times the second day.

Now for the actual tennis part of the trip.

I was a little bummed that my favorite tennis player, Jenson Brooksby, wouldn’t be playing due to having surgery a few days prior to the tournament, but luckily there were plenty others to root for.

After walking around the practice courts for a bit, my mom and I decided to head to Court 4 to watch Ugo Humbert in his match. I was fascinated by watching the ball wizz past me, something I had only seen on TV. Also by the way players prepare for each shot and the strategy behind it all.

Once we got the lay of the tennis gardens, we went back to the practice courts and found Ben Shelton practicing. He has become one of my favorite players, with his outgoing personality and competitive game. Shelton quickly rose in American tennis and it’s easy to see why when watching him in person.

For a while, my mom and I bounced around from court to court, trying to get a piece of all the action. Another interesting player we saw was Jack Draper who actually ended up defeating Andy Murray later in the tournament.

In the evening, we settled in at Court 4 after seeing Taylor Fritz practice for a bit and watched the match until we decided it was a little too chilly and we needed to sleep for our next day at the tennis gardens because it would be a jam-packed day full of excitement.

Our second day was amazing, somehow topping the first. The matches lined up were set to be ones that we would remember.

After we arrived, we did our morning check-in at the practice courts to see what was happening and immediately found Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka hitting with Ons Jabeur. These were the best players to watch as they also all find themselves in top rankings and it’s easy to see why after only watching them for a short period of time. Alacaraz is a burst of energy on the court, with Jabeur playing a completely different style of tennis and Sabalenka who’s out there for a good time, but will cream you on the court.

Ben Shelton would be playing that morning in Stadium 2 so my mom and I tried to get a seat, but were unsuccessful at finding one in the shade so we opted to watch from the hallway where we could still see the match and be in the shade. Sounds like a win-win situation for me. Fortunately, he cruised through the match and made it into the next round.

The tournament also featured both men’s and women’s doubles play and in the evening of our second day there were going to be two amazing doubles matches featuring the likes of Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Holger Rune, Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Alliasime.

Once I waited almost 2 hours to get into court 4 to watch these matches I was happy. It took many tears (yes I cried because I couldn’t get in the stadium), attempts at getting in and going right back out because there were no seats, and a man (who was sent from God) to help me get in.

Thank God we got into the court when we did because those seats filled up fast. I don’t blame people for wanting to watch the doubles matches as they were filled with entertainment and star-studded players.

Despite both matches being one-sided, my mom and I had a great time. Each player had a unique style of tennis and individual strengths that don’t compare to their partner or the person across the net.

So with that, it was time to leave Tennis Paradise. A sad moment, but we walked away with a new appreciation for the sport and personally, I now love watching tennis (I’m in my tennis era now). I’m looking forward to hopefully attending more tournaments in the future and learning more about the sport that was once unfamiliar. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll even be working for the professional tennis tour, but for now I’ll stick to watching it on TV.