According to tennishead.net, Andy Murray of Glasgow, Scotland, and Sofia Kenin of Pembroke Pines, Florida, have each received a wildcard for the 2022 Indian Wells Masters 1000 tennis tournament, which is set to commence with main draw action on Wednesday. Despite both players being major champions from the past, Murray and Kenin do not have a strong ranking at the moment. Murray is 84th in the world, and Kenin is 89th.
Kenin saw a major drop in her world ranking because of her weak performance at the 2022 Australian Open, where she lost to fellow American Madison Keys, 7-6, 7-5 in the first round. Kenin had previously won the 2020 Australian Open, where she beat Garbine Mugurza of Spain in the final, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. In 2021, Kenin missed time due to appendicitis and lost a high-profile second round match at Wimbledon to American Madison Brengle, 6-2, 6-4. In this match, Kenin committed a remarkable 41 unforced errors in only 45 minutes.
Murray meanwhile missed the 2021 Australian Open after testing positive for coronavirus. He later had a groin injury leading up to the French Open. In addition to the groin ailment, Murray has had two hip surgeries which have limited his play over the last four years. In fact, at one time, Murray was even ranked outside the top 800.
Like Kenin, Murray is receiving a wildcard based on past performance. He has previously won three grand slam titles–the 212 U.S. Open, along with two Wimbledon titles in 2013 and 2016. At Indian Wells, Murray reached the 2009 final, before losing to Rafael Nadal of Spain, 6-1, 6-2. Kenin meanwhile has only reached the second round of Indian Wells twice. The first time in 2018 and the second time in 2019.
For FREE!
