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Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki are set to compete in Indian Wells next month after being awarded main draw wildcards, the tournament announced.
Williams, 43, will be making her ninth appearance in Indian Wells this year. Williams, who debuted in Indian Wells in 1996, has had just eight appearances in the desert so far due to well-known reasons as the American boycotted the tournament for 15 years after feeling that she and her sister Serena Williams were victims of racial abuse during the 2001 Indian Wells edition.
After returning to Indian Wells in 2016, Williams made four consecutive appearances at the tournament between 2016 and 2019. In the desert, Williams made the semifinals in 1998, 2001 and 2018 but never the final.
An icon returns ✨@venuswilliams receives a wildcard to compete in #TennisParadise for the first time since 2019! pic.twitter.com/sr1KvA1hOW
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) February 13, 2024
On the other side, 33-year-old Wozniacki is set to make her 14th Indian Wells appearance and also her first appearance at the tournament since 2019. Between 2007 and 2019, Wozniacki featured in every Indian Wells edition and made three finals. Wozniacki won Indian Wells in 2011, while she ended as runner-up at the tournament in 2010 and 2013.
A welcome return to the desert 🏜
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) February 13, 2024
2011 champion @carowozniacki accepts a wildcard to play in #TennisParadise this year! pic.twitter.com/7GH7xYLnQQ
Williams refuses to quit, Wozniacki recently came out of retirement
Although Williams has had a couple of rough and challenging years in which she battled injuries, she is still refusing to simply quit and walk away from pro tennis. Williams, who hasn't played since the US Open due to a knee injury, recently revealed that her sister Serena didn't allow her to just quit on tennis.
"My little sister Serena told me I am not allowed to quit and of course I would never quit. But it's the mandate, she said no. So I will be back on the court," Williams revealed in a video uploaded on her YouTube Channel in late January.
When it comes to Wozniacki, she was in retirement for three and a half years before announcing her return to tennis in July. In Indian Wells, Wozniacki is a well-known figure and there is no doubt that her return will be a welcome sight in the desert.