Dan Evans hasn’t been given a singles wild card for his final Wimbledon appearance.
The former British number one was given a wild card for the doubles event alongside Henry Searle, but will need to advance through three rounds of qualifying if he is to join the 128-man Wimbledon singles field.
How badly treated do you feel Dan Evans has been by Wimbledon?
Tim Henman, Evans’ former ATP Cup captain, is a member of the All England Tennis Club board and would likely have had some say in who did and didn’t receive wild cards.
It may not have played a role in the decision, but now seems as good a time as any to look back at Evans and Henman’s disagreement at the ATP Cup six years ago.
Dan Evans disagreed with Tim Henman’s comment about his fitness at the 2020 ATP Cup
Evans was Team GB’s star man at the 2020 ATP Cup.
His wins over David Goffin and Radu Albot helped Henman’s side top Group C, advancing to the knockout stage.
2020 ATP Cup – Group C final standings
| Position | Team | Ties | Matches | Sets |
| 1st | Great Britain | 2-1 | 6-3 | 14-7 |
| 2nd | Belgium | 2-1 | 6-3 | 12-10 |
| 3rd | Bulgaria | 2-1 | 5-4 | 13-10 |
| 4th | Moldova | 0-3 | 1-8 | 4-16 |
There, Great Britain met the host nation, Australia.
Nick Kyrgios gave the Aussies a 1-0 lead with his dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Cameron Norrie, as all eyes turned to Evans.
Needing a win to keep British title hopes alive, Evans took on Alex de Minaur.
In a high-quality three-set match, Evans defeated De Minaur, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, to force a decider.
Unfortunately, Great Britain couldn’t quite get over the line to reach the quarter-finals, as Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury lost to De Minaur and Kyrgios, 6-3, 3-6, 16-18.
As reported by the Guardian, Henman made the following comment about Evans’ figure after the match.
“Yeah, I think Evo [Dan Evans] could miss a few meals,” he said.
Laughing as he made the suggestion, Henman may not have meant much by it and described Evans’ ATP Cup performances as ‘phenomenal’.
However, Evans disagreed with his captain’s assessment of his physical condition, sharing his thoughts during an interview with BBC Sport.
“I’m pretty fit, it’s just how I look, I guess,” said Evans.
“Just because you were a good tennis player doesn’t mean you’re an expert in all fields.
“Tim has plenty of opinions; that was his opinion on this subject, and I’ll leave him to it.”
It was Evans who had the last laugh, patting his stomach after winning a gruelling five-set match at the Australian Open later that month.
Evans missed large parts of the 2020 season, but continued his progress up the rankings when he returned, finishing 2021 as the world number 25 and 2022 as the world number 27.
The 36-year-old won two ATP Tour titles, reached the semi-finals of two Masters 1000 events, and was part of the British team that won the Davis Cup.
Would he have achieved more if he was in better shape? We’ll never know, but his efforts certainly won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
However, despite all his success on tour, Evans wasn’t deemed worthy of a Wimbledon singles wild card…
Why Dan Evans wasn’t given a Wimbledon wild card
It’s easy to make a case for Evans receiving a wild card, but why did they snub the former British number one?
Assuming it had nothing to do with Evans and Henman’s ATP Cup disagreement, there are a few arguments the All England Club board of directors might have made.
First of all, Evans is 36 and would be taking a wild-card spot away from a younger British player.
Several other aging Britons, including Billy Harris, 30, were not given wild cards this year, despite being ranked above several other wild card recipients.
Top-10 British players (ATP singles)
- 1. Cameron Norrie (30) – ATP #29 – Qualified directly
- 2. Jan Choinski (30) – ATP #106 – Qualified directly
- 3. Jack Draper (24) – ATP #113 – Qualified directly
- 4. Jacob Fearnley (24) – ATP #130 – Received wild card
- 5. Arthur Fery (23) – ATP #140 – Received wild card
- 6. Billy Harris (31) – ATP #142 – Didn’t receive a wild card
- 7. Toby Samuel (23) – ATP #144 – Received wild card
- 8. Jack Pinnington Jones (23) – ATP #147 – Received wild card
- 9. Liam Broady (32) – ATP #209 – Didn’t receive a wild card
- 10. Felix Gill (24) – ATP #222 – Received wild card
- 11. Harry Wendelken (24) – ATP #224 – Received wild card
- 12. Oliver Crawford (27) – ATP #238 – Didn’t receive a wild card
- 13. Dan Evans (36) – ATP #244 – Didn’t receive a wild card
- 14. Jay Clarke (27) – ATP #250 – Didn’t receive a wild card
- 15. Alastair Gray (27) – ATP #270 – Didn’t receive a wild card
Wimbledon wants to prioritise the development of younger talent, and that’s fair, although surely an exception could and should have been made for Evans in his final year on tour.
They may, however, also have taken into account Evans’ form this year.
Evans hasn’t won any of the three qualifying matches he’s played this year, and last won an ATP Tour match 333 days ago at the 2025 Washington Open.
The 36-year-old would be unlikely to win a main draw match at Wimbledon in 2026, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve an opportunity.
Evans will now need to win three qualifying matches to advance to the main draw.
The 2026 Wimbledon qualifying tournament begins on Monday, June 22.
