Emma Raducanu handed wild card for Indian Wells after drop in rankings, Andy Murray makes main draw

Emma Raducanu has been handed a wild card for the 2023 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, while Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie enter the men’s singles main draw.

The 20-year-old Raducanu didn’t make the direct entry into the women’s draw after her WTA ranking dropped to 80th following her second round Australian Open exit to Coco Gauff.

The 2021 US Open champion went into the tournament with an injury worry but got the better of Tamara Korpatsch in a comeback first-round win before she was quickly eliminated by the American.

Raducanu beat Caroline Garcia in the opening round of the 2022 edition of Indian Wells but was beaten in the second round by Petra Martic.

Taylor Fritz and Iga Swiatek will return to California in a bid to defend their titles. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal remain on the entry lists, despite question marks over their involvement.

Although he was finally able to return to Australia to compete in – and win – Melbourne’s grand slam, Djokovic is currently not able to enter the United States because he is unvaccinated against Covid-19.

The US is expected to ease restrictions in May which would mean the Serbian is able to enter the country, but this will come too late for the five-time Indian Wells champion with the tournament set to begin on March 9.

Nadal continues to endure injury problems and was sidelined for six to eight weeks after a hip injury ended his chances of retaining his Australian Open title.