Before Wimbledon began, their 16 available singles wildcard spots were some of the most contested and debated in recent memory.
After all, particularly on the men’s side, there were a handful of superstars with genuine claims to those positions, alongside the contingent of Brits who would have also expected easy entry into their home Grand Slam as well.
The same could be said for the women’s as well, although their headline additions like Serena Williams and Maja Chwalinska felt far more straightforward.
In the end, they had to settle on just 16 names, and with the Wimbledon selection committee coming under increased scrutiny following that announcement, it’s worth combing back through all the first round results to see exactly how they performed.
Grigor Dimitrov and Stan Wawrinka headline men’s Wimbledon wildcards
Grigor Dimitrov was probably the most well-received of the eight men’s wildcards, given the torrid way in which his Wimbledon campaign ended last year.
There, he led the eventual champion Jannik Sinner by two sets to love, but was forced to retire after tearing his pectoral. He departed Centre Court in floods of tears, and was similarly emotional yesterday when he beat qualifier Dane Sweeny in straight sets.
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Jacob Fearnley, alongside Arthur Fery, were the only British wildcards of six to actually score victories, with the Scotsman beating Alex Michelsen despite trailing by two sets at one stage.
Fery also rallied from a set down to defeat Damir Džumhur.
Some stars like Felix Gill and Jack Pinnington Jones were handed very rough draws, and so their straightforward exits can be easily accepted.
Meanwhile, Harry Wendelken actually took the opening set in his clash with Valentin Royer, but eventually lost on his Wimbledon debut.
Toby Samuel was desperately unlucky to lose in a fifth-set tiebreaker to recent Roland Garros semi-finalist Jakub Mensik, whilst Stan Wawrinka played his last-ever game at Wimbledon, losing an enthralling encounter with Matteo Berrettini in four sets.
How the other women’s Wimbledon wildcards got on alongside Serena Williams
It was similarly tough viewing for the British women as well, really, with only one actually securing a victory.
Katie Swan’s win over Irina-Camelia Begu marked one of the most shocking results of the first round, given all the struggles she has endured over the last year and a half.
She won in straight sets, but was the only Brit to win at all in the women’s draw.
Teenagers Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic were both well beaten in brutal opening-round matches against Barbora Krejčíková and Belinda Bencic, whilst Alicia Dudeney lost easily to Alycia Parks.
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For Harriet Dart and Mimi Xu, there was cause for optimism, but they both also lost, albeit in three sets.
And for the final two foreign wildcard spots, Serena Williams lost to Maya Joint in her first singles match in four years, whilst Maja Chwalinska, who was the breakout story of the French Open, saw victory cruelly snatched from her grasp on her Wimbledon debut.
She led 6-2, 5-2, but rolled her ankle. Mananchaya Sawangkaew took full advantage against her tearful opponent, who buried her head into her towel immediately after the match.
