Latest news with #wildcard
The Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Brit tennis star, 17, walks out of A Level biology exam to find she's been given Wimbledon wildcard slot
MIMI XU walked out of an exam hall and into tennis dreamland after landing a Wimbledon wildcard. The super smart Swansea star was doing her biology A Level when she got her golden ticket. 1 Xu, 17, is one of three British teens given ladies' singles wildcards. She said: 'For any player to play at Wimbledon is just a dream. 'I feel like I've a good chance against anyone.' Xu overcame a rankings gap of 254 places to KO American Katie Volynets at the Nottingham Open on Tuesday in her first WTA main draw match. After rushing off to Nottingham High School to sit her biology exam, she is back to take on world No 31 Magda Linette in round two. Xu said: 'It might sound weird but studying is a bit of a hobby of mine.' She will be joined at Wimbledon by 16-year-olds Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic. Ex-British No 1 Dan Evans, 35, was given a wildcard into the men's draw. This comes after reports suggesting Wimbledon chose not to give French Open semi-finalist Lois Boisson a wildcard. But they did give Brit tennis ace Harriet Dart a spot in the main draw. This year's Wimbledon kicks off on June 30 and runs until July 13.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Wimbledon choose NOT to offer wildcard to French Open semi-finalist Lois Boisson after cruel ‘deodorant' jibe from Brit
WIMBLEDON chose NOT to give a French Open semi-finalist a wildcard. But they did give the Brit who made a cruel "deodorant" jibe about her a spot in the main draw. 4 4 4 Lois Boisson, 22, hit headlines in April after Harriet Dart took a mean swipe at her personal hygiene. At a change of ends during her 6-0 6-3 defeat to the Frenchwoman, Dart inexplicably asked the umpire to "tell her to wear deodorant" because "she smells really bad". Boisson hit back with a brilliant quip to the unkind comments, jokingly writing that "Dove apparently need a collab". And not only did she breeze to an easy win and her classy reputation enhanced, but she then had the best fortnight of her life with a stunning run to the semi-finals at Roland Garros. Given a wildcard by the French Tennis Federation after an ACL injury saw her slump to world No361, Boisson enjoyed a stunning run. She beat No3 seed Jessica Pegula and No6 seed Mirra Andreeva in front of a raucous home crowd, Boisson was eventually knocked out by Coco Gauff, who lifted the trophy. As well as earning £578,000 - five times more than the rest of her career prize money - she also jumped up to 67 in the WTA world rankings. That would ordinarily be high enough for direct entry into the majors, but the Wimbledon cut-off was before the rankings updated after the French Open. So Boisson was reliant on a wildcard spot in the main draw - but was snubbed by the All England Club. Of the eight wildcards handed out for the women's singles, seven went to British players - including Dart and 16-year-old rising star Hannah Klugman. Wimbledon finals are to be broadcast on new channel The other was for two-time champ Petra Kvitova from Czech Republic following her return from maternity leave. Instead, Boisson used her protected ranking of 153rd from before the injury to secure a qualifying place for Wimbledon, where she will play her first professional match on grass. But tennis fans could not believe the call from the AELTC to overlook her for a place in the 128-player main draw. One said: "I'm genuinely shocked Lois Boisson was denied a Wimbledon wild card… I hope she makes it through the qualifiers." Another wrote: "Totally understand many wildcards for Wimbledon being handed to British players, but it's disappointing there isn't one for Lois Boisson as well. "Now inside the top 70 after Roland Garros - it would have been good to see her in the main draw. Hope she comes through qualifying." Wimbledon 2025 Wildcards GENTLEMEN'S SINGLES 1 Jay CLARKE (GBR) 2 Oliver CRAWFORD (GBR) 3 Daniel EVANS (GBR) 4 George LOFFHAGEN (GBR) 5 Johannus MONDAY (GBR) 6 Jack PINNINGTON JONES (GBR) 7 Henry SEARLE (GBR) 8 To be announced LADIES' SINGLES 1 Jodie BURRAGE (GBR) 2 Harriet DART (GBR) 3 Francesca JONES (GBR) 4 Hannah KLUGMAN (GBR) 5 Petra KVITOVA (CZE) 6 Mika STOJSAVLJEVIC (GBR) 7 Heather WATSON (GBR) 8 Mingge XU (GBR) GENTLEMEN'S QUALIFYING SINGLES 1 Oliver BONDING (GBR) 2 Nicolai BUDKOV KJAER (NOR) 3 Arthur FERY (GBR) 4 Paul JUBB (GBR) 5 Ryan PENISTON (GBR) 6 Oliver TARVET (GBR) 7 To be announced 8 Wild Card Play-off place 9 Wild Card Play-off place LADIES' QUALIFYING SINGLES 1 Emily APPLETON (GBR) 2 Amarni BANKS (GBR) 3 Renata JAMRICHOVA (SVK) 4 Ella MCDONALD (GBR) 5 Yuriko Lily MIYAZAKI (GBR) 6 Amelia RAJECKI (GBR) 7 Ranah STOIBER (GBR) 8 Wild Card Play-off place 9 Wild Card Play-off place And a third added: "Roland Garros has never issued a WC to a British woman player. Wimbledon has a long memory." The French Open usually gives a wildcard to Australia and the United States, the hosts of the other two majors - but not to Great Britain. On the men's side, seven of the eight main-draw wildcards have been confirmed - with all of them so far going to Brits. That leaves three-time Grand Slam champ Stan Wawrinka's hopes of playing at a 19th Wimbledon hanging by a thread. The veteran turned 40 in March but is now down at world No155 and not on the qualifying entry list. Dan Evans is the standout Brit along with Jay Clarke and in-form Oliver Crawford. Wimbledon gets underway on June 30 - with the finals over the weekend of July 12-13. 4 Tennis stars' new careers PLENTY of tennis stars have stayed involved in the sport since retiring. But others pursued very different careers. Here are some of the best… I reached French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teenager but I quit to become a nun I won Wimbledon mixed doubles with my sister but got fed up with English weather so now run luxury B&B I was tipped for stardom aged 12 but retrained to become high-flying lawyer I earned £9m and won French Open before setting up bistro with Brazilian model girlfriend I'm last Frenchman to win Roland Garros, now I'm singer with six albums hitting No1 in charts I'm former world No1 but quit aged 29 - instead I went on to play professional poker and golf I was destined for the top but swapped lobs for labs as award-winning Harvard physicist
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
How are Wimbledon wildcards decided?
Wildcard places are extra spots given to players who did not qualify automatically for a tennis have been awarded at Wimbledon since 1977 and are at the discretion of the committee of the All England Lawn Tennis are often awarded to players based on their previous performances at Wimbledon, or to increase British participation in the 2003, some wildcard spots for singles events have been decided by 'play-off' years prior to that, Goran Ivanisevic famously won the men's singles title as a wildcard entry while Serena and Venus Williams twice won the women's doubles from the same starting most recent wildcard winners at Wimbledon were Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen in the men's doubles in year, Andy and Jamie Murray were handed wildcard entries into the men's doubles, but were knocked out in the first article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team. What is Ask Me Anything? Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio. More questions answered... Why are line judges no longer used at Queen's?Why do athletes take pickle juice?Why female tennis players are returning to Queen's after half a centuryWhen does the tennis grass court season begin?
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
British veteran Evans given Wimbledon wildcard
Former British number one Dan Evans has been given a wildcard into the men's singles draw at Wimbledon later this 35, recently regained his place in the world's top 200 and the news comes two days after the former world number 21 earned his biggest win in two women's singles champion Petra Kvitova has also received a wildcard, which are given to players who are not ranked high enough for direct former world number two Kvitova is the only non-British player named in the initial batch of wildcards announced on Mika Stojsavljevic - the US Open girls' champion last year - and Hannah Klugman - the French Open girls' finalist earlier this month - have also been given entry into the main Burrage, Harriet Dart, Francesca Jones and Heather Watson will join them, but French Open semi-finalist Lois Boisson is a notable omission. Evans rewarded after refusing to 'ask' for wildcard A stalwart of the British game, Evans said last year he did not want to be "coming back to ask" for a Wimbledon the world number 199 has been rewarded by the All England Club after continuing to persevere on the lower-tier ATP Challenger Tier. Evans has insisted he believes he still has the level to break back into the world's top 100 - which is good enough for direct entry into the sport's four Grand Slam Monday, he demonstrated his faith was well placed in an impressive win over 13th-ranked Frances Tiafoe in the Queen's first round. "I'm the first to harp on about the wildcards. It's not just about one week or one match. It's about what you do 52 weeks of the year," Evans said after beating former US Open semi-finalist Tiafoe."Tennis is not just about the grass court season in Britain. It's great that we've got an amazing set of events, but there is other tournaments."I haven't been good enough at those other tournaments, but I've still been professional, still train day in, day out."
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Dan Evans faces nervous Wimbledon wildcard wait just 12 months after saying he wouldn't look for a free pass
Twelve months ago, Dan Evans insisted he would not be going to the All England Club cap in hand for a wildcard. And yet after a stirring defeat of Frances Tiafoe at Queen's Club's HSBC Championships, the world number 199 insisted his years of national service make him worthy of a free pass. 'I would hope the past 15 years has given me a shot at a wildcard,' said the 35-year-old after his 7-5, 6-3 win over world number 13 Tiafoe - a first top-20 victory in two years. 'I'm the first to harp on about the wildcards - it's not just about one week or one match and I haven't been good enough at other tournaments. 'But I've still been professional, still train day in, day out, so I hope that's enough to get me a wildcard. If not, I'll go through qualifying.' Before Wimbledon last year, Evans said: 'I don't want to be coming back here asking for a wildcard. 'When you're not good enough, I think that's time to let it all go. 'You can remind me of that if I need one next year!' Well, he does need one - and we did remind him. 'It's all in context,' he said. 'I didn't want to take a wildcard off a younger guy but I don't think any younger players have been ripping up stumps to knock me out of the wildcard spot,' (a fair point). 'So I think I've got a good shot. If I don't, I respect the All England Club. They might go for younger people, which is perfectly fine.' To my mind, Evans richly deserves a wildcard - more than many who have received them over the years - and it would be a surprise if Wimbledon do not concur when they reveal their selections on Wednesday. He has spent six months scratching around for Challenger Tour wins in Manama, Glasgow and Ostrava, but one afternoon basking in the adoration of the crowd - and 26 degrees of West Kensington sunshine - made it all worthwhile. 'The toughest part is I have not found my best tennis at those events,' said Evans. Evans thinks he has a good shot at a wildcard but will respect the All England Club's decision With no younger players more deserving, Evans is in good shape for a Wimbledon free pass 'I've contemplated it quite a bit being in Barletta in the winter when it's a ghost town. 'The bottom line is I love playing tennis. I have never played for the money. 'You've got to be ready to walk for the door when it opens or an opportunity comes, and that's what I did today.' Jacob Fearnley, on his Queen's Club debut, joined Evans in the second round with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Aussie qualifier Alex Bolt. Cam Norrie went down 7-6, 1-6, 6-1 to 19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik and, over in Nottingham, 16-year-old French Open junior finalist Hannah Klugman lost 6-2, 6-2 to fourth seed Yulia Putintseva.
