Wimbledon wildcards for Laura Robson, James Ward and Lleyton Hewitt
Monday 22 June 2015 06:09, UK
Britain's Laura Robson has been been handed a Wimbledon wildcard and will join James Ward and former champion Lleyton Hewitt at the All England Club this year.
After 17 months out of action because of a wrist injury, Robson made her competitive return on Saturday when she lost a qualifier at Eastbourne where she was beaten 6-0 6-1 by Daria Gavrilova.
She has not played a Grand Slam event since January 2014 and because of her inactivity does not currently have a ranking.
The organising committee are providing eight wildcards for the men’s singles, while handing out just five in the women’s singles.
In the women singles, there are also wildcards for fellow Brits Naomi Broady and Johanna Konta.
Jonathan Marray of Great Britain and his Danish partner Frederik Nielsen, who won the men's doubles title in 2012, have been awarded a wildcard for this year's competition.
Among the men is Frenchman Nicolas Mahut who, in 2010, lost a record-breaking final set to John Isner 70-68 in a match that lasted over 11 hours.
Doubles wildcard
Elsewhere, Hewitt has also been given a doubles wildcard and will team-up with fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis.
For many Brits trying to forge a career on the main world tours, a wildcard at SW19 will help to fund their training and travelling for the following 12 months.
For those losing in the first round of the men's singles at Wimbledon this year, players will receive £29k.
However, none of this year’s wildcard recipients are likely to follow in the footsteps of Goran Ivanisevic who won the Wimbledon singles title in 2001.
That year, the Croat was handed entry into the tournament after his ranking had slipped outside the top 120.
Wildcards (GBR unless stated):
Men’s singles: Liam Broady, Matthew Ebden (Aus), Kyle Edmund, Lleyton Hewitt (Aus), Brydan Klein, Denis Kudla (USA), Nicolas Mahut (Fra), James Ward.
Women’s singles: Naomi Broady, Johanna Konta, Anett Kontaveit (Est), Jelena Ostapenko (Lat), Laura Robson.
Men’s Doubles: Luke Bambridge/ Liam Broady, Edward Corrie/ Kyle Edmund, Matthew Ebden (Aus)/James Ward, Lleyton Hewitt (Aus)/Thanasi Kokkinakis (Aus), Jonathan Marray/Frederik Nielsen (Den), Ken Skupski/Neal Skupski.
Women’s Doubles: Naomi Broady/Emily Webley-Smith, Johanna Konta/Maria Sanchez (USA), Jocelyn Rae/Anna Smith.
Mixed Doubles: To be announced.
