Venus Williams, 45, has had a difficult singles season, losing all seven of her singles matches so far. She did, however, win a doubles match with Britain’s Katie Boulter at the Madrid Open in April.
Together, the sisters have won 30 Grand Slam singles titles and 12 Wimbledon singles titles. In doubles at Wimbledon, they won six titles between 2000 and 2016.
Which players received Wimbledon wildcards?
The Wimbledon committee awards wildcards at its discretion. The tournament says they are usually offered “on the basis of past performance at Wimbledon or to increase British interest.” Conveniently broad, as committee language tends to be.
Six British players are ranked high enough to enter the singles draws directly:
- Cameron Norrie
- Emma Raducanu
- Katie Boulter
- Jack Draper
- Jan Choinski
- Francesca Jones
On Tuesday, four British men were given wildcards, with two further men’s singles spots still to be confirmed over the next fortnight.
Men’s singles wildcards
- Grigor Dimitrov
- Jacob Fearnley
- Arthur Fery
- Jack Pinnington Jones
- Toby Samuel
- Stan Wawrinka
Women’s singles wildcards
- Maja Chwalinska
- Harriet Dart
- Alicia Dudeney
- Hannah Klugman
- Mika Stojsavljevic
- Katie Swan
- Mimi Xu
The French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska earned a women’s singles wildcard after her run at Roland Garros.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who is retiring at the end of the season, also received a wildcard. Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2014, is another notable recipient.
What is the Williams sisters’ Wimbledon history?
Serena and Venus Williams reshaped tennis after emerging as teenagers in the 1990s. Their power, athleticism and shot-making made them central figures in the sport’s modern era, and Wimbledon was one of the stages where their influence was most visible.
Their first Wimbledon doubles title together came in 2000. Their most recent came in 2016. They have not played together since the 2022 US Open, Serena’s last tournament before stepping away from the sport.
Venus has continued to appear sparingly on tour in recent seasons. She received a singles wildcard at this year’s Australian Open and, at last year’s Washington Open, became the second-oldest woman to win a WTA Tour-level singles match by beating 23-year-old Peyton Stearns.
Asked at the recent French Open about Serena’s comeback, Venus told TNT Sports she was “not worried” about how her sister would perform.
“What I will tell you is she will not hit for four months then grab her racquet and come out and hit a tonne out of the ball - it’s incredible,” Venus said.
“The quality of her stroke is obviously there. She is a natural - she is very tenacious.”
Why did Dan Evans miss out?
Former British number one Dan Evans has not been given a men’s singles main-draw wildcard, at least not yet, for what he hopes will be the final tournament of his career.
Evans, 36, was once ranked 21st in the world and helped Great Britain win the Davis Cup in 2015, the country’s first title in the competition for 79 years. He has also won two ATP Tour-level titles.
If he does not receive one of the two remaining men’s singles wildcards over the next fortnight, he will have to enter qualifying.
He is guaranteed a Wimbledon farewell of some kind, though. Evans has received a doubles wildcard alongside Henry Searle, the 2023 Wimbledon boys’ champion.
Earlier this week, Evans said it would have been a “classy gesture” to receive a singles main-draw wildcard at Queen’s, where he also missed out.
“I think what some people have forgotten is I’m a professional tennis player and I wouldn’t be playing if I wasn’t prepared or ready to play or fit to play,” Evans said of the Queen’s decision.
“I don’t feel like I’ve been taken seriously.”
Who else missed the Wimbledon singles wildcard list?
Several familiar names were also absent from the men’s singles wildcard list.
Matteo Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up, has not received one, although he has a strong chance of moving into the main draw as an alternate. Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 finalist, also missed out on a singles wildcard, though he will play doubles with Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
Gael Monfils, the 39-year-old former world number six from France, also missed out. Like Wawrinka, Monfils is retiring at the end of the season.
Dimitrov’s wildcard comes after a painful exit from last year’s tournament. He left Centre Court in tears after retiring injured while leading world number one Jannik Sinner by two sets in their fourth-round match. Sinner went on to win the title.
As ever with wildcards, the list answers some questions and creates several more. Wimbledon does enjoy a tidy draw sheet, but it rarely resists a little drama before the first ball is struck.
