The Mutua Madrid Open qualifiers will provide plenty of exciting stories to follow and the campaign of Reda Bennani, the great hope of Moroccan tennis, is sure to be one of the most enticing. The player from Casablanca will be the youngest man on the courts of the Caja Mágica, where he will be bidding to demonstrate his huge talent.
At just 16 years of age, Bennani has become one of the most exciting young players on the junior circuit, as he aims to consolidate Morocco’s place in the future of professional tennis. A nation that looks back nostalgically at the feats of Younes El Aynaoui, Hicham Arazi and Karim Alami is excited at the prospect of this great new talent.
His momentum coming into the Spanish capital leaves no room for doubt. He has enjoyed a sensational start to 2023 with 17 wins in 23 matches, clearly demonstrating the progress of a player who is intent on breaking the mould. A calendar designed exclusively on clay for the last two campaigns currently makes the Moroccan one of the best-prepared junior players on the surface.
“It’s a great honour and a privilege to me to be invited to play the Mutua Madrid Open this year”, said Bennani, excited about the prospect of playing on the clay of the Caja Mágica. “Having the opportunity to compete in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world at just 16 is very special. I’m very grateful and I’ll give my best so that everyone feels proud, especially the Arabic community that gives me so much support. This is the start of a professional career in which I set myself no limits”.
Bennani arrives in Madrid with all the tools required to meet the challenges he will find on the courts of the Caja Mágica. A game forged on clay has allowed him to develop a wide range of resources on the tour’s slowest surface, where he now has five titles on the junior tour. His trophy haul on the red stuff puts him among the strongest players of his generation.
After making his ATP Tour debut a few weeks ago in the qualifiers in Marrakech, where he beat a Top 200 player in the first of his matches, Bennani now has his sights set on the qualies in Madrid. In the Spanish capital he can expect to compete against both the most experienced players and the world’s most exciting young talent, and there will be a global audience closely following the tournament. It is a huge opportunity for the Moroccan to gain valuable experience.
The highest ranked African player in the World Tennis Junior Rankings, and currently one of the best four tennis players of the 2007 generation, he is ready to break down barriers in Spain, to make a region hungry for fresh blood proud, and to leave his distinctive mark on the Madrid ATP Masters 1000 event.
