Oracle Challenger Series Indian Wells Wild Cards Highlighted by WTA World No. 18 Wang Qiang and ATP Tour World No. 28 Kyle Edmund

Oracle Challenger Series Indian Wells Wild Cards Highlighted by WTA World No. 18 Wang Qiang and ATP Tour World No. 28 Kyle Edmund
Twelve Americans, including Houston Finalist Lauren Davis, Among Wild Card Recipients

INDIAN WELLS, Calif., February 20, 2019 – WTA World No. 18 Wang Qiang and ATP Tour World No. 28 Kyle Edmund are among those awarded wild cards into the main draws of the Oracle Challenger Series Indian Wells, to be held February 25 – March 3, 2019 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Twelve Americans also received wild cards into the main and qualifying draws, including Houston finalist and current women’s Road to Indian Wells leader Lauren Davis.

Wang, who owns two career WTA singles titles (2018 Nanchang; 2018 Guangzhou) was granted a wild card into the women’s main draw. Wang is coming off a career-best year in 2018 that saw her crack the Top 20 in the rankings for the first time. Davis was also awarded a main draw wild card into Indian Wells, where she will look to solidify her hold on one of the two BNP Paribas Open main draw wild cards up for grabs. Davis currently tops the Road to Indian Wells Leaderboard on the strength of a runner-up finish in Houston and a semifinal run in Newport Beach last month. Francesca Di Lorenzo, the 2018 Oracle US Tennis Award recipient, also received a main draw wild card, as did 14-year-old Coco Gauff, winner of the 2018 Junior French Open title. Catherine Mcnally, the reigning French Open and US Open Junior Doubles Champion, rounds out the women’s main draw.

Americans Kayla Day and Ena Shibahara – the doubles champion in Newport Beach – join the qualifying draw as wild cards.

On the men’s side, 24-year-old Edmund, the No. 1-ranked British player who is the winner of one career ATP Tour title (2018 Antwerp), joins the main draw as a wild card. Edmund’s career-best 2018 season, which included a run to the Australian Open semifinals, catapulted him into the top 20 for the first time. Maxime Cressy, a senior at UCLA who reached the second round in Newport Beach and is coming off his first career ATP Challenger Tour title in Cleveland earlier this month, received a main draw wild card, as did Americans Christian Harrison, a quarterfinalist at this event in 2018, and Brandon Nakashima, a freshman student-athlete at the University of Virginia who has won one ITF title in his young career. Jenson Brooksby, winner of the 2018 USTA Boys 18s Singles Championship, rounds out the men’s main draw.

Michael Redlicki, who won three matches in at the Oracle Challenger Series in Houston, and 17-year-old Zane Khan complete the qualifying draw.

The 2018-2019 Oracle Challenger Series, which made stops in Chicago, Houston and Newport Beach, culminates at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open, the largest ATP Tour and WTA combined two-week event in the world held annually at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The two American women and two American men who accumulate the most points over the course of the four events in the Series will receive wild cards into their respective singles main draws in Indian Wells.

All Oracle Challenger Series events are free and open to the public. For more information about the Oracle Challenger Series, please visit oraclechallengerseries.com.