Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki receive wild cards into Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Seven-time major champion Venus Williams and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki have received wild card entries into the BNP Paribas Open next month.

The combined ATP and WTA event is March 6-17 at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Williams has been dealing with the lingering effects of a knee injury she suffered in her first-round match at Wimbledon last July.

She lost in the first round of the U.S. Open in September and hasn't played a tour match since.

The 43-year-old player will return to the Southern California desert for the first time since 2019, when Williams reached the quarterfinals.

Wozniacki also returns to the desert for the first time since 2019. She took three years off to have two children. She won the Indian Wells title in 2011 and was a finalist in 2010 and 2013.

Wozniacki returned to the circuit last August and reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open. She lost in the second round of last month's Australian Open, a tournament she won in 2018.

The remaining wild-card entries will be announced in the coming weeks.