Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, Kei Nishikori, and Rafa Nadal academy student Martín Landaluce awarded wildcards for Madrid Open 2024

The 2024 Madrid Open has recently announced that wildcards have been granted to Grand Slam champions Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki.

Martín Landaluce, a student at Kei Nishikori and Rafael Nadal’s academy, was also awarded a spot in the main draw, completing the first round of wildcard selections.

The 2024 Madrid Open, a yearly event held at the Caja Mágica in Manzanares Park, San Fermín, is scheduled to occur from April 24th to May 5th this month. This tournament, played on the red clay, features both male and female players and is recognized as an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000 event.

The first wildcards for the main draw at the 2024 Miami Open were announced by the tournament on Wednesday, April 3.

“Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, Martin Landaluce, Kei Nishikori. These are the first wildcards for the main draw at the 2024 #MMOPEN”the post read.

Simona Halep, who is familiar with this event, was the first wildcard to participate. She has won the Madrid Open twice before, in 2016 and 2017, by defeating Dominika Cibulkova and Kristina Mladenovic. Additionally, she has also been a runner-up twice, in 2014 and 2019, losing to Maria Sharapova and Kiki Bertens respectively.

The Romanian player has achieved her highest number of wins at a single WTA 1000 event in Madrid, boasting a record of 30-9 at the tournament.

Caroline Wozniacki’s return to the Madrid Open after a five-year absence marks an exciting moment for the tennis star. She last participated in the event in 2019, where she made it to the final but ultimately lost to Dinara Safina.

She enters the tournament with a season record of 6-5, having achieved her best result in Indian Wells where she advanced to the quarterfinals.

Despite his recent hip surgery, Kei Nishikori was still granted a spot in the main draw. He returned to competition at the Atlanta tournament last year, and although he was given a wildcard for the Miami event, he was ultimately defeated by Sebastian Ofner in the opening round.

Martín Landaluce, a student at Rafael Nadal’s academy, concluded the initial round of wildcard selections. The young Spaniard made his first appearance on the professional circuit at the 2022 Gijon Open. He was also given a wildcard spot at last year’s tournament, where he was defeated in the opening round by seasoned French player Richard Gasquet.

Madrid Open: Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka return to defend their titles

At the 2024 Madrid Open, it is highly probable that Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka will compete as the reigning champions.

Alcaraz emerged as the champion in the men’s event after defeating Emil Ruusuvuori, Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev, Karen Khachanov, and Borna Coric before facing Jan-Lennard Struff in the final. He claimed victory over the German in a hard-fought match, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and securing his second title in Madrid.

Last year, Aryna Sabalenka won her second Madrid Open title by defeating World No. 1 Iga Swiatek beat Iga Swiatek 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the women’s final. Along the way to the finals, she also defeated Sorana Cirstea, Camilla Osorio, Mirra Andreeva, Mayar Sherif and Maria Sakkari.