Naomi Osaka receives Indian Wells wild card

Former Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka is set to play the 2022 BNP Paribas Open from March 7th till March 20th.

After failing to defend her title at the 2022 Australian Open, Naomi Osaka will try and win the Indian Wells once more. The Japanese player received a wild card entry into the event in order to avoid playing qualification. After her disappointment in Melbourne, Osaka dropped significantly on the rankings being currently ranked 82nd in the world.

Osaka is a former champion of the event having won it back in 2018. Ranked World No.44 at the time, Osaka halved that number with the championship, surging to a new career-high of No.22 after the event. That title kickstarted Osaka's rise to the top, with her second title coming later in 2018 at the US Open, for her first Grand Slam title. Osaka has racked up five more WTA singles titles, including three more Grand Slam crowns, and 25 weeks at World No.1 since then.

Osaka released a statemenet on the news:

"To return to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the place I won my first big event, it's special. It was special in 2018 and it will be special again this March."