Britain’s US Open champion Emma Raducanu has been given a wildcard entry into the main draw of the Indian Wells tournament.
In a statement, the Organisers of the tournament said, “2021 U.S. Open Champion and rising WTA Tour star Emma Raducanu has been awarded a wildcard into the BNP Paribas Open, a combined ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event to be held October 4–17, 2021 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.”
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States.
Raducanu’s entry into the Indian Wells tournament which is often called the ‘fifth major’ will allow the 18-year-old US Open winner to compete for the 1,000 ranking points up for grabs and possibly give her an outside shot at qualifying for the season-ending WTA Finals in Guadalajara.
The wild card entry came a day after world number one Ash Barty withdrew from the tournament while former champions Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams have already indicated their absences from the tournament.
The upcoming tournament will be the 18-year-old’s first tournament since her stunning victory in New York earlier this month.
The entry list for Indian Wells was notified during the US Open, when she was outside the top 100, the young champion could not participate as per tournament rules. Presently, as the world’s number-one withdraws and as she holds the 23rd position in the world she can participate in the tournament.
The tournament is one of the biggest events and will take place in California from 4-17 October. Raducanu will also be participating in Russian and Romanian tournaments in October.
She has still the chance to qualify for the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. Raducanu is currently 14th in the race to reach the event, needing just under 400 points to reach the top eight and qualify.
