Emma Raducanu snags Indian Wells wildcard entry
Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu won’t be left to sweat on her entry to Indian Wells.
The tournament announced on Thursday 9 February 2023 that Raducanu had been handed a wildcard entry into the main draw of the WTA 1000 event.
Raducanu narrowly missed the qualification cut-off determined by the players WTA Rankings in this week.
However, tournament organisers have seen value in adding the Brit to the field and thereby guaranteeing a UK audience has at least one name to cheer on at Indian Wells.
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Iga Swiatek headlines the event as the World No 1 and defending champion but for once the focus hasn’t been on the rankings queen.
Instead the talk of the town is the World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka who will enter the tennis paradise as a newly minted Grand Slam champion.
Nonetheless, Swiatek is the defending champion and will be aiming to become the first woman to win back-to-back titles at Indian Wells since Martina Navratilova did it at the outset of the 1990s (90/91).
Meanwhile World No. 10 Elena Rybakina will be out to regain her momentum after a stunning start to the season.
Rybakina is a real force to be reckoned on grass and hard courts and should be a strong contender every time she enters a draw in 2023.
The field of American hopefuls is deep and includes top ten stars in world No 4 Jessica Pegula and world No 6 Coco Gauff.
The field is set to be of Grand Slam quality with World No. 7 Maria Sakkari joining two-time Grand Slam finalist and World No 3 Ons Jabeur and 2022 WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia (World No. 5) among the list of stars looking for a WTA 1000 title in Indian Wells.
Former Indian Wells champions Paula Badosa (World No. 21), Victoria Azarenka (World No. 16) and Bianca Andreescu (World No. 37) return to the desert hoping to spark a charge back up the rankings.
Of the trio Azarenka is the one trending back upwards after her deep run in Australia.
Former World No 2 Badosa returns to action having missed the Australian Open with injury while Andreescu’s long and winding road back to the top of the game still weaves through uncertain territory.
The home hopes are not limited to Gauff and Pegula with Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens (World No. 40) as well as former Grand Slam finalists Madison Keys (World No. 24) and Danielle Collins set to chase glory in the desert.
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