The sport of tennis has seen some legendary human beings – from René Lacoste to Rod Laver, from Billie Jean King to the Williams sisters, from Bill Tilden to Roger Federer. To our mind, none is as legendary – or perhaps as little known – as Indian Wells’ Charlie Pasarell.
The Puerto Rico native, whose family was tennis royalty on the island, first came to international attention when he was 18 years old and playing in a tournament in San Juan. He beat the world’s number-one player and then went on to lose in the semifinal to Laver; it was the year the Aussie went on to win his first Grand Slam. Pasarell then won NCAA titles for UCLA and reached a U.S. ranking of number one in 1967. He won 23 singles titles and 30 doubles titles during a 17-year career.
Pasarell was still playing in 1974 when he and South African player Raymond Moore started a tournament in Tucson to raise funds for the fledgling ATP Tour. Pasarell then moved the tournament to Rancho Mirage and later to La Quinta. It found a permanent home in Indian Wells in 1987 and moved into its new stadium in 2000.
The BNP Paribas Open has had many names, but there is only one Pasarell. The tournament endured tough times, lean times, and fatal threats. But, Pasarell weathered them all and made the tournament prosper, both as a former owner and as the tournament director for 31 years. The French Open has elan and Wimbledon has history and tradition, but Indian Wells is both the players’ and fans’ pick for best tournament on the planet. The tournament has certainly grown and prospered thanks to the BNP Paribas Open and Larry Ellison, but it remains Pasarell’s dream and the stuff of legends.
