Badosa in Sabalenka's Draw

Paula Badosa, Spain's great hope in the Madrid Masters 1,000, will make her second-round debut against Veronika or Polina Kudermetova. The Catalan, who receives a first-round bye as a seeded player, is placed in the same section as Aryna Sabalenka, the top favourite for the title and winner for the past two years, whom she could face in the quarter-finals.

On Badosa's path appears Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, in the first round, or Marta Kostyuk, followed by Qinwen Zheng, the Olympic gold medallist and eighth seed, or Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion. In the quarter-finals, Sabalenka awaits, and in a hypothetical semi-final, which was Badosa's best here in 2021, Jasmine Paolini or Jessica Pegula could be her opponents.

For Badosa, this WTA 1,000 in Madrid marks her return to the courts after the injury she sustained in Miami, which prevented her from playing her third-round match against Alexandra Eala due to a back injury. This issue forced her to withdraw from Charleston, and she has been pushing her limits to be ready for Madrid, where she is always warmly welcomed and there is hope that one year she will become the first Spanish woman to win the tournament.

On the other side of the draw, only meeting in the final, are Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys, Mirra Andreeva, and Coco Gauff.

As for the rest of the Spanish players, Jessica Bouzas, a heroine in the recent Billie Jean King Cup, will face Egypt's Mayar Sherif, and Carlota Martínez will debut against a qualifier. More players could join them at the last minute as Neus Torner, Nuria Párrizas, Leyre Romero, Ariana Geerlings, Cristina Bucsa, and Ruth Roura are participating in the qualifiers.