Venus Williams among the first players invited to Indian Wells

On Wednesday, the Indian Wells tournament announced the first wild-cards for the 2025 edition of the event, which takes place from March 2 to 16.

In the women's draw, 44-year-old Venus Williams, who hasn't played since last year's WTA 1000 in Miami, has been awarded a new invitation.

Last year, she lost her 1st round match in California to Nao Hibino.

Petra Kvitova is the second player to benefit from a wild-card. She will be making her return to competition in Austin next week after giving birth to her first child.

On the men's side, the tournament management has decided to bet on two of the world's tennis hopefuls by inviting the phenomenon Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien.

Other invitations will be announced a few days before the start of the tournament.