Tennis-Murray, Kenin handed wild cards for Indian Wells

By Rory Carroll

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Andy Murray and Sofia Kenin have been handed wild cards for this month's Indian Wells tournament, organizers said on Tuesday.

The BNP Paribas Open Twitter page posted a photo of the pair with the caption: "Here they come."

Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray, whose best result at the tournament in the Southern California desert was in 2009 when was thrashed by Rafa Nadal in the final, lost in the third round of the Masters 1000 tournament last year.

The Briton also lost his wedding ring during the event after attaching it to his smelly sneakers which he had put under his car. After an appeal on social media, the ring and sneakers were returned.

Kenin had a breakthrough at Indian Wells in 2018 when as a teenager she entered the top 100 by reaching the second round as a qualifier.

The American won the Australian Open in 2020 and has reached as high as world number four.

The Indian Wells main draw begins with the WTA matches on March 9 and ATP action on March 10, and wraps up on March 20.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)