Jessica Pegula may have planned to lighten her schedule this season, but the massive prize money attached to mixed doubles at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open has already made her reconsider. The American star recently admitted that the tournament’s newly announced $1 million purse for mixed doubles caught her attention, calling the figure “wild.”
Her candid reaction came during a lighthearted conversation on a tennis podcast, where Pegula and fellow players joked that the unprecedented payday could be enough to tempt even those who had planned to skip the discipline.
Jessica Pegula Reflects on Indian Wells’ $1 Million Prize Money Offer
The 2026 BNP Paribas Open has introduced a $1 million purse for its official mixed doubles event, nearly tripling the $370,000 prize pool offered the previous year. The move follows a similar step taken at the 2025 US Open, where a revamped mixed doubles competition during Fan Week also offered a record $1 million to the winning team.
Tournament organizers hope the larger financial incentive will draw elite singles players into the event and give mixed doubles a stage comparable to those typically reserved for Grand Slam competitions. At Indian Wells, the mixed doubles draw will feature 12 teams competing in a knockout format, with matches scheduled across five days beginning March 10.
The opening round will be split across March 10-11, followed by the second round on March 12, semifinals on March 13, and the final on March 14. While the full breakdown of the purse has not been publicly detailed, the champions are expected to earn roughly $200,000, making the event financially appealing for players who might otherwise focus solely on singles.
Pegula acknowledged the lure of that prize money during a recent episode of “The Player’s Box Podcast,” which she hosts with Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk.
Reacting to the announcement, Pegula admitted the figure immediately grabbed her attention. “It’s kind of crazy. … A million dollars is wild. I sent it to you guys. I was like, ‘Oh, I might be playing,’” she said.
Keys quickly chimed in with a playful jab at her fellow American, joking that Pegula’s earlier plans to scale back her schedule might not last long. “Jess was like, ‘I know, I said I wasn’t going to play as much this year, but I’m signing up,’” Keys said.
The conversation grew even more humorous when Keys revealed that her husband and coach, Bjorn Fratangelo, briefly considered joining the action himself.
“Bjorne was ready to try to come out of retirement. So he’s like, ‘Do you think we could get a wild card?’ And I was like, ‘When was the last time you hit serves?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know, but for a million dollars, like I’ll be good,’” Keys joked.
It is helpful to distinguish this official tournament from the Eisenhower Cup, a high-energy “Tiebreak Tens” exhibition held just a day before the main draw. The Eisenhower Cup also featured a lucrative $200,000 winner-take-all prize, recently won again by the defending champion duo of Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina on March 3.
