Wawrinka, Thiem and Svitolina among wild card recipients for Madrid

Former Grand Slam men’s champions Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem, along with Spanish teen Martín Landaluce were named as wild card recipients for the ATP Madrid Masters.

On the women’s side, former world No 3 Elina Svitolina and teenagers Brenda Fruhvirtova, Alexandra Eala and Mirra Andreeva were among those awarded wild cards for the WTA Madrid Open.

Wawrinka and Thiem are both former finalists in Madrid and are attempting to regain their former heights after being slowed down by injuries.

16-year-old Landaluce won the US Open junior title last year and is among the most promising juniors in the game.

Svitolina is making her comeback after giving birth to her daughter last year while 16-year-old Brenda Fruhvirtova, ranked No 142 in the world, joins elder sister Linda, who made the cut through a direct entry.

17-year-old Alexandra Eala, a former US Open junior champion who trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain, will also make her debut in Madrid.

15-year-old Andreeva is another wild card entrant. The teen reached the final of the junior Australian Open in January and has won two ITF W60 titles in her short pro career so far.

Others who received wild cards included Spaniards Marina Bassols and Rebeka Masarova, Colombia’s Camila Osorio and Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva on the women’s side and Jordanian player Abedallah Shelbayh on the men’s side.