MADRID — Simona Halep has received a wild-card entry to the main draw of the Madrid Open, which will be the two-time Grand Slam champion’s second tournament since getting her doping suspension reduced on appeal.
Organizers of the clay-court tournament also handed a wild card to another former No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, on Wednesday, along with veteran Kei Nishikori and 18-year-old Martín Landaluce on the men’s side.
Halep, the Madrid champion in 2016 and 2017, returned to professional tennis last month at the Miami Open and lost to Paula Badosa 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. That was her first match in about 1½ years.
Halep’s four-year doping ban that was handed down in 2023 was cut to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in early March.
“Muchas gracias [Madrid Open] for this wild-card opportunity. Madrid has always been a special tournament for me, with happy memories and I’m grateful to be able to make more. See you soon,” the 32-year-old Romanian wrote on X.
The tournament starts April 23.