The eight wildcard slots for the men’s singles tournament at Wimbledon were officially announced recently.
Stan Wawrinka, who is set to retire at the end of the 2026 season, received a wildcard, and so did Grigor Dimitrov, who was a set away from knocking out eventual champion Jannik Sinner last year before being forced to retire due to injury.
The other six wildcards went to British players: Arthur Fery, Felix Gill, Jack Pinnington Jones, Toby Samuel and Harry Wendelken.
How would you rate Novak Djokovic’s chances of winning Wimbledon?
Despite Wimbledon’s preference to hand main draw entries to home hopes, former British number one Dan Evans was not awarded a wildcard for this year’s championships.
Evans, a key part of Great Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup triumph, recently announced he will be retiring from tennis after Wimbledon.
In response to the decision, former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski claimed the higher-ups at Wimbledon have scored an ‘own goal’.
Greg Rusedski reacts after Dan Evans does not receive wildcard
“How do you not give a Brit who’s played Davis Cup for his country, who’s announced his retirement, a wildcard into the main draw?” asked Rusedski in an episode of ‘Off Court with Greg‘.
“I’m kind of confused by that. I just don’t understand that decision. I mean, you look at his record and what he’s achieved and what he’s had to go through in his career, and, you know, it’s his last ever Wimbledon.
“He deserves the wave-off and the send-off from the crowd instead of having to go into qualies. It just, I mean, it’s like self-sabotage, if you think about it.
“You have all these wildcards, and yes, you want to give them to Wawrinka, you want to give them to Dimitrov, you want to give them to the players that are announcing their retirement that are big names.
How far will Serena Williams and Venus Williams go at Wimbledon?
They’ve won six Wimbledon doubles titles together…
“But how many British players have we had in the last two decades who have been top 50 in the world? You know, top 50, top 30 players. Not too many. You can count them on two hands in the last 20 years.
“So for me, that’s a little bit of an own goal there. You know, I don’t usually criticise the club because they do so many things well, and it’s a decision between the LTA and Wimbledon.
“But I think for me, it’s a decision that they should have given Dan the wildcard, and I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t.”
Greg Rusedski says not giving Nick Kyrgios a wildcard was ‘smart’
Another big name to miss out on a wildcard for Wimbledon was Nick Kyrgios, who recently made his return to tour-level action during the grass swing.
“”I think it was a smart decision,” said Rusedski in response to the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up missing out.
“He had a knee problem. So how can you justify giving somebody a wild card who has played a total of two matches since January into Wimbledon?”
Kyrgios was set to face Ben Shelton in his opening match at the Halle Open, but withdrew with a knee injury.
Rusedski continued: “Yeah, he made the finals in 2022, but he hasn’t played tennis full-time, and he didn’t have any match fitness.
“If, for example, he had beaten Shelton in the opening round and he was in the quarters or semis, then there’s a justification for possibly giving him a wildcard.
“But, you know, having pulled out with a knee injury, we’re playing three out of five sets. You have to be fit; you have to be ready to go.”
Kyrgios has won just one singles match since returning, which was a victory over Corentin Moutet at the Stuttgart Open.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
