New U.S. Events to Award Indian Wells Wildcards to American Players in 2018
Four new tournaments are coming to the U.S. as new additions to the tennis calendar for 2018.
At the start of the 2018 season, Oracle Corp. is launching the Oracle Challenger Series, two ATP Challenger Tour events and two WTA125K Series events. The tournaments will take place as combined events on Jan. 20-28, 2018, at the Newport Beach Tennis Club and Feb. 24-March 4, 2018, at Indian Wells.
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The most interesting aspect of the new events is that the tournaments will have a direct connection to the 2018 BNP Paribas Open and give two Americans an opportunity to participate in the combined ATP/WTA tournament at Indian Wells. The top two male and female Americans with the highest accumulated points at the events will be awarded wildcards in their respective singles main draws at Indian Wells, which is held March 5-18, 2018.
"Tennis players in the United States need more chances to compete at home and more chances to earn a living from the sport," Oracle CEO Mark Hurd said in a press release. “These events are designed to provide opportunities for players to make meaningful gains in both prize money and ranking points on their home soil."
The Oracle Challenger Series will use procedures used for similar tournaments and player participation will be determined by ATP and WTA rankings. Each event will pay equal prize money for a total of $150,000 per tournament.
