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Grand Slam champions Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki were awarded wildcards into the 2024 Madrid Open, the tournament recently announced.
Kei Nishikori and Rafael Nadal's academy student Martín Landaluce were also given a seat in the main draw, rounding off the first round of wildcard entries.
The 2024 Madrid Open is set to take place from 24th April to 5th May later this month. It is annually held at the Caja Mágica in Manzanares Park, San Fermín, and is played on the red clay. It hosts both men and women and is classified as an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000 event.
On Wednesday, April 3, the tournament announced the first wildcards for the main draw at the 2024 Miami Open.
"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 was the first wildcard at an event that she knows all too well. She won the Madrid Open twice in 2016 and 2017, defeating Dominika Cibulkova and Kristina Mladenovic respectively. She also finished runner-up twice, in 2014 and 2019 losing to Maria Sharapova and Kiki Bertens respectively.
The Romanian has notched her most victories at a single WTA 1000 event in Madrid, holding a 30-9 W/L record at the event
Caroline Wozniacki is set to feature in her first Madrid Open in 5 five years, having made her last appearance at the event in 2019. She reached the final in its debut year but lost to Dinara Safina.
She will head into the tournament on the back of a 6-5 W/L record this season, with her best result coming in Indian Wells where she reached the last eight.
Kei Nishikori was also awarded a seat in the main draw. He made his comeback from a hip surgery in Atlanta last year. He received a wildcard in Miami but lost to Sebastian Ofner in the first round.
Martín Landaluce, a student of Rafael Nadal's academy, rounded off the first round of wildcard entries. The Spanish teen made his debut on the professional circuit at the 2022 Gijon Open. He received a wildcard at last year's event too, losing in the first round to French veteran Richard Gasquet.
Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are defending champions in Madrid
Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka will most likely feature at the 2024 Madrid Open as the defending champions.
Alcaraz won the men's event overcoming Emil Ruusuvuori, Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev, Karen Khachanov, and Borna Coric en route to the summit clash against Jan-Lennard Struff, where he beat the German 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to lift his second title in Madrid.
Aryna Sabalenka also won her second Madrid Open title last year, beating World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the women's final 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. She beat Sorana Cirstea, Camilla Osorio, Mirra Andreeva, Mayar Sherif, and Maria Sakkari en route to the finals.
