(Tennis news) The Indian Wells tournament will begin from 7th October as it usually is played in the month of March. It always is the first Masters 1000 event of the year but this time due to the pandemic has become the second last event of the year. It is one the most watched and attended events after the four Grand Slams. It's the first time since 2000 when any of the big three were not featured in the tournament. The men’s and women’s draw will be finalised once the qualifiers are over tomorrow.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won the title every year from 2004 till now except in 2010 when Ivan Ljubicic won the title, 2018 when Juan Martin Del Potro captured the crown and in 2019 when Dominic Thiem secured his Masters 1000 title. This time there will be no former champions playing as Djokovic withdrew from the event a few days earlier, which means that there will be a first time winner.

In the women’s event, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka will not be featuring this time. Emma Raducunu and Leylah Fernandez will be making their debut in the event and will be playing for the first time since the US Open. Former champions like Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep and defending champion Bianca Andreescu will also be playing, making the women’s event as competitive as ever.

The Indian Wells was not held last year due to the pandemic as it was the first time that the event was cancelled since its inception in 1976. Nadal is the only left hander to win the tournament in the last 20 years and he last won it in 2013, in the women’s field the last left hander to win the event was Martina Navratilova in 1991 and is the only one.

Federer and Djokovic have won the most singles crown in the men’s field with five titles. In the women’s field nine players have the title twice but in the current players only Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters have won it twice. There have been three different champions in the last three editions in the men’s field and seven different champions in the women’s field.

Wildcard Kim Clijsters is playing the event for the first time in 10 years and she had last won it in 2005. Andy Murray and Jack Sock are the other prominent wild card entries. Carlos Alcaraz, Sebastian Korda, Lorenzo Musetti and Jenson Brooksby along with Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Barbora Krejcikova are all making their debut at the event this time.

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