Tennis

Guadalajara Open 2023 wildcards – who got the invite?

The second edition of the Guadalajara Open kicks off this week, as 56 players make the trip to Mexico for this event. A few players are seeded ahead of this tournament, while some came through the qualifying rounds. In this article, we will talk about the players who received wild cards into this competition.

Day 1 update

This has not particularly been a great tournament for our wild cards so far. While all three wild cards played on the first day, there’s just one left standing. Eugenie Bouchard held her own against Renata Zarazua, defeating the Mexican in straight sets. She had a 0-2 record against Zarazua prior to this tournament. On the other hand, Ajla Tomljanovic suffered a straight sets loss at the hands of Taylor Townsend on Sunday; she managed to convert just two of 11 break points en route to a 6-7, 4-6 loss. Meanwhile Lya Isabel Fernandez Olivares took just three games off Hailey Baptiste. Although to be fair, this was her first ever WTA level match, and she was the overwhelming underdog. As it stands, Eugenie Bouchard is the only wild card left in the draw; she’ll face number 7 seed Veronika Kudermetova in round 2.

How far have previous wildcards gone in this competition?

We’ve already established that this is the second edition of the Guadalajara Open. With that in mind, there were three wild cards last year, and they didn’t particularly go very far in last year’s event. Fernanda Contreras Gomez crashed out in the first round, while Eugenie Bouchard and Donna Vekic exited in the second round. As it stands, no wild card has made it through to the third round of this competition; so it’ll be interesting to see how far this year’s wild cards will go.

Guadalajara Open 2023 wildcards

Just like last year, three players received wild cards into this edition of the Guadalajara Open, and these are:

Eugenie Bouchard

We’ve already established that Eugenie Bouchard was a wild card in the previous edition of this competition, where she lost in the second round. The former Canadian number 1 has not exactly enjoyed her best form in recent months. As a matter of fact, Bouchard participated in the qualifying rounds of eight WTA level competitions this year, and she made it through to the main draw in just one of them. The former Wimbledon finalist suffered four losses in her last five matches ahead of this tournament. Eugenie Bouchard will face Renata Zarazua in the first round.

Ajla Tomljanovic

Ajla Tomljanovic
Photo by Icon Sport

Ajla Tomljanovic featured in the previous edition of this tournament, where she defeated Fernanda Contreras Gomez, one of last year’s wild cards in the first round. However, the Australian hasn’t seen much action this year; she played just one match in 2023 so far, where she defeated Panna Udvardy in the first round of the US Open. Tomljanovic will go up against Taylor Townsend in round 1.

Lya Isabel Fernandez Olivares

Not much is known about Lya Isabel Fernandez Olivares. The Mexican is currently ranked #964 in the world, with just 14 WTA ranking points to her name. This isn’t a surprise considering Fernandez Olivares is just 16 years old. Lya Isabel’s first tournament was an ITF event in Cancun two years ago; she has mostly participated in ITF competitions since then. Interestingly, the teenager featured in the qualifying rounds of three WTA Tour events in Mexico, including last year’s Guadalajara Open. This will be her first appearance in the main draw of a WTA tournament. Lya Isabel Fernandez Olivares is scheduled to meet Hailey Baptiste in the opening round.


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