The draw is out for the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open qualifiers after the draw held in the Caja Mágica on Monday, the day before play gets underway. WTA supervisor Tony Cho was present at the ceremony alongside Cristina Romero in her capacity as tournament referee.
48 players will compete for twelve spots in the WTA 1000 tournament in the Spanish capital. Matches start on Tuesday at 11:00 (CEST) with the 24 first-round matches.
Aliona Bolsova, the biggest home-hope in the qualifiers, opens against American number eleven seed Bernarda Pera. The Girona-based, Moldova-born player, currently world No. 105, will be trying to reach the main draw for the first time after falling at the final hurdle in 2019.
Latvian player Anastasija Sevastova, No. 54 in the world and first seed, will face the Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, No.116, in her opener. The favourite in the ‘qualies’ is about to embark on her fourth participation, her best performance coming in 2017 when she reached the semis.
The draw also threw up a clash between debutant Ane Mintegi, No. 716 in the WTA ranking, who received an invitation from the organisers to play in the qualifying round, and French player Kristina Mladenovic. The talent and aspirations of the young 17-year-old will be put to the test by the experience of the world No. 55, who was a finalist in the singles in 2017 and a doubles champion alongside Carolina Garcia.
An all-German duel will see Laura Siegemund, the third seed, and world No. 59 Andrea Petkovic square off. Although the No. 109 is in the qualifiers, she is a well-known face in the Caja Mágica having played in eight of the last eleven editions of the Madrid tournament.
Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet, No. 60 in the world will open against the Chinese Xiyu Wang. While the fourth seed has only missed one edition of the Mutua Madrid Open (2012), by contrast, the No. 136 is making her debut at the tournament.
Another highlight will see Vera Zvonareva face Arantxa Rus. The Russian player is the oldest in the qualifying stage at 36 years of age and she comes to the Mutua Madrid Open with a protected ranking after experiencing problems with her left wrist between 2019 and the start of last year. For her part, the Dutch player, 30, sits at No. 85 in the world and is back in Madrid for the first time since 2011.
All matches:
[1] A. Sevastova (LAT) vs T. Pironkova (BUL)
M. Gasparyan (RUS) vs [16] M. Kostyuk (UKR)
[2] K. Mladenovic (FRA) vs [WC] A. Mintegi Del Olmo (ESP)
V. Gracheva (RUS) vs [15] A. Potapova (RUS)
[3] L. Siegemund (GER) vs A. Petkovic (GER)
[WC] J. Bouzas Maneiro (ESP) vs [24] A. Sasnovich (BLR)
[4] A. Cornet (FRA) vs X. Wang (CHN)
[PR] M. Barthel (GER) vs [17] A. Tomljanovic (AUS)
[5] D. Kovinic (MNE) vs [WC] M. Custic (ESP)
[WC] E. Guerrero Alvarez (ESP) vs [18] M. Doi (JPN)
[6] S. Hsieh (TPE) vs [WC] J. Cristian (ROU)
K. Juvan (SLO) vs [19] T. Zidansek (SLO)
[7] K. Kanepi (EST) vs [PR] K. Kozlova (UKR)
M. Trevisan (ITA) vs [23] Z. Diyas (KAZ)
[8] K. Siniakova (CZE) vs A. Bogdan (ROU)
O. Dodin (FRA) vs [20] N. Hibino (JPN)
[9] A. Van Uytvanck (BEL) vs A. K. Schmiedlova (SVK)
[PR] V. Zvonareva (RUS) vs [21] A. Rus (NED)
[10] H. Watson (GBR) vs S. Voegele (SUI)
A. Kalinskaya (RUS) vs [14] I. Begu (ROU)
[11] B. Pera (USA) vs A. Bolsova (ESP)
Y. Wang (CHN) vs [13] P. Hercog (SLO)
[12] L. Fernandez (CAN) vs [WC] A. Konjuh (CRO)
J. Paolini (ITA) vs [22] N. Stojanovic (SRB)
