Murray and Clijsters handed Indian Wells wildcards

Andy Murray and Kim Clijsters have been awarded wildcards for Indian Wells in October.

Former world number one Murray will take part in the Indian Wells Masters for the first time since 2017.

The Scot is competing in San Diego after opting to play the Moselle Open last week in a bid to improve his world ranking following a first-round loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open.

Murray has now been handed a chance to improve on his career-best semi-final finish at Indian Wells in 2015, while Clijsters will also feature at the event, which will take place from October 4-17.

Welcome to the party, @Clijsterskim and @andy_murray Meet your #BNPPO21 wild cards: https://t.co/hZNQRbmHSN pic.twitter.com/bZGpULjpZA

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) September 30, 2021

Clijsters, another former world number one, started her comeback in 2019 after a seven-year break from tennis and will return to the tournament for the first time since 2011.

The four-time major champion underwent knee surgery last year and made her first WTA Tour appearance since the 2020 US Open at the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic this week, losing to Hsieh Su-Wei in the first round.

A two-time winner of the Indian Wells Open, Clijsters will be joined by Catherine McNally, Claire Liu, Katie Volynets and Katrina Scott. Newly crowned US Open champion Emma Raducanu was already a main-draw wildcard, with Ashlyn Krueger and Elsa Jacquemot also granted a place in the first round.

A trio of Americans will join Murray in the men's draw, namely Jack Sock, Jenson Brooksby and Zach Svajda, with Denmark's Holger Rune also handed his debut as a main-draw wildcard.