Wimbledon have come under huge scrutiny this year for their wildcard selections, namely the omission of Dan Evans.
After all, given everything that the 36-year-old has given to British tennis across his impressive career, it felt harsh not to allow him to play his very last singles match in the main draw of his home Grand Slam.
Tim Henman, in a rather bold move, has since emerged to explain exactly how the All England Club came to the conclusion of their wildcard picks.
Tim Henman explains how Wimbledon picks their wildcards
Chatting on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Henman was asked exactly how Wimbledon comes to their decision on wildcards.
After all, this year they have arguably come under more scrutiny than ever, with the men’s side having been particularly tricky.
The pundit revealed: “We sit and have a conversation and look at the British players, we’ll look at players coming back from injury, up and coming players, and it’s therefore, you know, very much our prerogative as to who we give the wildcards to.
How badly treated do you feel Dan Evans has been by Wimbledon?
“Obviously, we want the best players. We want the biggest names in the tournament, and you use Chwalinska as a good example.
“There’s someone that had the most extraordinary run from qualifying to the final at the French Open; those ranking points were obviously accumulated after the entry deadline. He’s 21 in the world. She got a wildcard.
“I think that was one of the easier decisions.
Then, touching on the sentimental side of some wildcards, with Grigor Dimitrov awarded one after his injury at last year’s event, Henman admitted: “Yeah, this is most definitely not an exact science.
“It is absolutely looking at all the different angles, and obviously we’ve got on the women’s side, we’ve got some really exciting, young, up and coming players and, you know, Stan Wawrinka, what is he, 40 or 41 now? And he’s a three-time Grand Slam champion.
“He’s one of the greats of his generation and, you know, we’re delighted that he can be out at SW19 for one last chance.
“So, look, you know, there’s eight in the main draw, the men’s and the women’s, and at times, we wish there were 12, but that isn’t the case.”
What men and women got Wimbledon main draw wildcards?
Unsurprisingly, the bulk of the eight men and eight women offered a Wimbledon main draw wildcard were British. That was to be expected.
However, what did come as a shock was the fact that Dan Evans was not given a wildcard, sparking huge unrest given he had announced he’d be retiring after the event.
Instead, Wimbledon provided foreign wildcards to Dimitrov and Wawrinka, with the rest going to British players. These include: Jacob Fearnley, Arthur Fery, Felix Gill, Toby Samuel, Jack Pinnington Jones, and Harry Wendelken.
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Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Serena Williams’ singles comeback at Wimbledon is unsurprisingly the dominant story.
She joins Maja Chwalinska in a deserving spot, with the rest again taken up by Brits.
These are: Harriet Dart, Hannah Klugman, Alicia Dudeney, Mika Stojsavljevic, Mimi Xu, and Katie Swan.
