Former
coach of
Andre Agassi, Brad Gilbert, questioned the decision of the BNP Paribas
Open
Indian Wells organization regarding the Wild Cards.
The Indian
Wells organization recently confirmed to players that they received an
invitation to compete in the main draw of the tournament. Five invitations were
given in the men's draw and eight in the women's draw, something that prompted
Gilbert's reaction on Twitter.
“"Wonder why not same amount of WC’s
for @atptour @WTA," said the coach and sports commentator.
Among the players invited by the organization,
highlights include
Dominic Thiem, Jack Sock, and Wu Yibing, who join Alex
Kovacivic and Brandon Holt. On the women's side, the main name is former World
No. 4
Sofia Kenin, who will be joined by six American players: Caty McNally,
Ann Li, Katie Volynets, Emma Navarro, Peyton Stearns, and Elizabeth Mandlik.
Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska will also be part of the draw.
The draws for the men's and women's brackets will take
place on March 6, and will begin on March 8 with the qualifying results
defined. The 2022 tournament champions are American Taylor Fritz, who defeated
Rafael Nadal in the final, and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who won the final
against Greek Maria Sakkari. Both
will play the tournament looking to repeat their crown