With less than 25 days to go until the sixteenth Mutua Madrid Open gets underway, the tournament organisers have announced two invitees for the WTA competition’s main draw. By means of these two wildcards, Lara Arruabarrena and Sara Sorribes will take part in the WTA Premier Mandatory, which takes place on 6 May.

Reaching the quarter finals of the Miami tournament helped Lara Arruabarrena climb the rankings (world number 65), and she is now very close to her all-time best position (61). It is clear from the achievement that the Tolosa native, who brought Alejo Mancisidor into her team at the start of the year in order to raise her game, is close to completing the process of adapting to the required changes. Her positive performance in the Premier Mandatory in Miami (she had never before reached such heights in a tournament of that category) could be a sign of good things to come in 2017, a very important year in her career.  “I would like to thank the Mutua Madrid Open once again for this wildcard for the main draw. I am really looking forward to playing in the tournament because we are playing at home and the affection we get from the people is really nice. I’ll see you all in the Caja Mágica!”, said Lara when she received the call from Manolo Santana to inform her of the invitation”.

At 20 years old, Sara Sorribes broke into the top 100 a few weeks ago at Indian Wells, where she came through the qualifiers and won one more match. The player from Castellon, who played in her first Mutua Madrid Open final draw last season (losing to Samantha Stosur), continues to show signs that she is progressing at a good rate. However, Sorribes’ goal has not changed: to continue the process of improving as a player in order to consolidate herself among the best players in the world. “I’m so happy about this wildcard, it is a tournament that is always particularly exciting because it is at home. Hopefully I can make the most of this invitation and play well and continue to enjoy playing in Madrid. Thank you very much Manolo Santana, Alberto Berasategui, Dinara Safina and everyone at the Mutua Madrid Open for the trust they have placed in me”, stated Sara Sorribes.

The news means that Lara and Sara will form part of the draw of 64 women who will be competing from 6 May for the Mutua Madrid Open title and to supercede the 2016 champion, the Romanian Simona Halep.