As I understand it, the buying of WC's has always been an issue, certainly at ITF level events, and also occasionally at bigger events. The agencies like IMG can often organise it so their players pick some up (we all saw that in the Middle East a month or two back) and at the lower levels like this, wealthier individuals can buy their own and the problem is said to have got worse since the new ITF ranking system came in.

Here is some old debate from 14 years back

www.menstennisforums.com/2-general-messages/47623-how-much-does-cost-buy-wildcard-into-challenger.html

and a more relevant article related to this specific event in Italy

www.tennisforum.com/12-general-messages/1303082-players-who-probably-buy-wild-cards-3.html

and a Spanish article with translation below

www.puntodebreak.com/2015/02/03/compra-venta-wild-cards-futures

"Wild cards have been bought and sold for a long time, since the organization obviously tries to have the least possible expenses or earn money with the tournament and selling the invitations both into qualifying and in the main draw is a very good option", comments to this portal a man who prefers to maintain anonymity and who has spent his whole life tied to tennis. He is a trainer of a competition group in a prestigious professional academy of Catalonia and also organizer of tournaments.

"The WC prices are sometimes exorbitant, I know stories in Eastern Europe where more than 3,000 euros have been paid for an invitation, that's crazy, it's more than what some sponsors can get in the whole tournament", expresses with indignation about a practice that is very frequent in many of the tournaments that are disputed in Spain and in the rest of Europe. "In Catalonia, the most I saw was 1,500 euros per invitation."

However, these are rare and high figures. "The normal price of a wild card in a main draw is between 500 and 1,000 euros but it depends on the circumstances, a Russian will be asked about 1,500 ... but all this varies, " says the coach.

"It's the business that moves, I do not think it's legal, even if you buy it if you do not have the level it's cheating and you're promoting an internal business that is worrisome for tennis," he explains to a movement that is in order of the day in a large part of the tournaments. The players are not only interested in paying for invitations for main draw but it is also an extended practice in the qualifying phase. "They also buy for qualifying, it's an extra money that goes into the organization."

Not all the tournaments happen this type of arrangement since there are many directors who choose to grant the invitations for real sports merit or to take care of the home players and not for monetary interests. "You can not sell all the wild cards, it's very difficult because there are Federations in between, home players or other interests along the way, depending on the needs of the tournament director, of course," explains the man at Punto de Break.

One of the great reasons why you buy invitations is to also fix the first game of the main draw, where there are already bets in between. "The issue of betting is in line with the purchase and sale of invitations, many times the WC is bought and also the first round match." A round business to recover the money invested in the purchase of the wild card.

Other players choose to buy the WC but without the idea of offering any game. They do it to try to get the first point ATP and say that they have already been 'professional players' and are registered in the ATP as they had ranking. "That gives a kind of cachet," he adds.

"In Greece, last year, we were in a resort and there was a tourist who was on vacation and bought the WC into qualifying, he had to pay the ipin ... and he played the qualifying! I was laughing with the family, I thought it was messy, but I have it recorded."

Aside from the betting and the money changing hands, Indiana (was it) who suggested nobody gets a point without a win should be an obvious rule alteration.

There are others, I spotted one girl who had played matches in higher rated tournaments 60K and 80 K in east asia, won absolutely nothing but ranked wta 850 or so.

And of course if Chloe and others are alt 20+ there seems to be no other way to even get to play 15K qualifying, unless you have a very good junior record. Interesting to see what happens to her after she gets her ranking and where/what she will play.  And what the other on site alts, or those in qualifying think of her - goodness only knows.

Looking good. Naiktha won the first set 6-2, and is 1-0* in the second. 39-29 points so it is quite close in that respect, but NB must be winning the bigger points - a lot of games going to 40.

Really good win, wider than I thought, especially with the opponent reaching a 25k+H SF a couple of weeks ago. Points gained as Indi says and you'd like to think she'd have a good chance of going further and getting more valuable points.

Interestingly, it's top seed Rus vs Gabi's conqueror Kan, a rematch from a few weeks ago, in another QF and the winner of that will play the winner of Naiktha's match in the SF.

Ace Ventura wrote:

---

Really good win, wider than I thought, especially with the opponent reaching a 25k+H SF a couple of weeks ago. Points gained as Indi says and you'd like to think she'd have a good chance of going further and getting more valuable points.

Interestingly, it's top seed Rus vs Gabi's conqueror Kan, a rematch from a few weeks ago, in another QF and the winner of that will play the winner of Naiktha's match in the SF.

---

 Yes, and I also notice that to get to the QF Kan played a Croatian qualifier, CH 401, who she beat 7-5 6-2, which is a closer score than Gabi's. I'm not quite sure why Gabi is playing here on clay rather than returning to Japan where she was relatively successful last year, but her year has certainly failed to get going so far.  

Naitktha underway.