Naomi Broady, Heather Watson, Laura Robson handed Wimbledon wildcards
Updated 21/06/2017 at 10:30 GMT
Naomi Broady, Heather Watson and Laura Robson will join British number one Johanna Konta in the women’s singles draw at Wimbledon after being handed wildcards.
British No.2 Broady claimed the scalp of France’s Alize Cornet in the first round of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham on Monday, while Watson – the world No.126 – slumped to a three-set defeat to Elina Svitolina.
Meanwhile, Robson is currently ranked 188th in the world and has not gone beyond the first round of a Slam since 2014. The 23-year-old reached the fourth round at Wimbledon four years ago.
Katie Boulter, 20, completes a British quartet of wildcard hopefuls, while Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas also gets a nod.
Konta is expected to spearhead the British charge at SW19, with the world number seven considered one of the favourites to take the title in Serena Williams’ continued absence.
In the men’s draw, Brydan Klein, Cameron Norrie and James Ward are the British wildcard entries.
However, there is no place for Marcus Willis, who captured the tennis world’s imagination with a fairytale run to a second-round clash with Roger Federer on Centre Court. Instead, he earns a qualifying spot.
Germany’s Tommy Haas, conqueror of Federer in Halle, and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov – perhaps most famous for accidentally smashing the ball into an umpire's face – also get nods.
The All England Club still have three wildcards to announce in both the men’s and women’s singles. Wimbledon starts on Monday July 3.
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