Murray, Clijsters receive US Open wildcard entries

FILE – Great Britain’s Andy Murray eyes the ball as he serves to Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor during the singles tennis match at the Davis Cup Madrid Finals 2019 in Madrid on November 20, 2019. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

NEW YORK–Former U.S. Open champions Andy Murray and Kim Clijsters each received wildcard entries to 2020 edition of the tournament, organizers said on Thursday.

The tournament will take place in a quarantined setting from Aug. 31-Sept. 13 in New York. The Western & Southern Open, which was relocated from Cincinnati this year, will be held from Aug. 20-28 as a warm-up event for the Grand Slam.

Murray, a former world number one who won his U.S. Open title in 2012, also received a wildcard entry into the Western & Southern Open, but said on Monday that players traveling to New York need assurance that they would not face mandatory quarantine after returning to Europe.

The 33-year-old Briton missed the tournament in 2017 and 2019 due to injury.

FILE – Belgium’s Kim Clijsters returns the ball to Spain’s Gabrine Muguruza during a match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Clijsters, who won the tournament in 2005, 2009 and 2010, returned to action after nearly eight years away from the sport in 2020, competing in World TeamTennis’ three-week season that kicked off in July at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia.

The 37-year-old from Belgium also received a wildcard entry to the Western & Southern Open.

The U.S. Open wildcard entries also include seven American men and seven American women, organizers added.