Pilar Barril in Spain. No other Spanish player would reach a GS quarterfinal until Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in 1987. Pilar Barril Pilar Barril (10 October 1931 – 30 September 2011) was a female Spanish tennis player who was active during the 1950s and early 1960s. She and María Josefa de Riba were the first Spanish women to play international tennis tournaments after the World War II. She was the first Spanish lady to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open since Lilí de Álvarez. She was also a semifinalist in the 1956 mixed doubles competition. She was a pioneer, appearing regularly at
Qatar Tennis Federation Al Thani, The Emir of the State of Qatar. The first ATP Qatar Open for men took place in January 1993. Due to the major development in the sport for women in the country, the Qatar Tennis Federation took a major steps for the development of women tennis in Qatar and organized the first women tennis championship to be held in the Middle East. Starting in 2001 the Qatar Open attracted the greatest women players from the WTA Tour including; Martina Hingis, Mary Pierce, Sandrine Testud, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario among many others. From 2008 to 2010 the Sony Ericsson Championships