The 2023 Wimbledon is right around the corner and the tournament organizers already announced the wild cards for this year's event.
The third Grand Slam of the season, and the only grass-court major, is certainly also the most prestigious one. Everyone wants to play at Wimbledon but there is only certain amount of spots available in the ATP & WTA draws to qualified players.
Thankfully, there are eight wild cards for the men's and women's singles that the tournament organizers can allocate, fans always await the announcement of who are the lucky players that will play at the tournament, despite not having sufficient ranking.
In the women's singles, the tournament organizers allocated two wild cards to players who certainly belong to the top of the game, even though their ranking doesn't reflect it due to various reasons.
Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams is one of them. The 43-year-old American recently recorded her first grass-court win since 2021, and she will be at Wimbledon, attempting to defy the odds once again and win her sixth crown.
Joining her will be Elina Svitolina, who is the 2019 Wimbledon semifinalist. The Ukrainian has been away from the sport because of pregnancy, but her quarterfinal run at the Roland Garros proved that she's as good as she used to be, despite losing in her first grass-court match after that.
Joining the two experienced players will be British talents, who recently proved that British tennis is rising again. Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage made history when they competed in the first all-British final on the WTA Tour since 1977, and naturally, they are two of the five Brits that received the wild card.
Joining them are Harriet Dart, Katie Swan, and Heather Watson, as Dart and Watson are also one of five recipients of the doubles wild card along with Emily Appleton and Jodie Burrage, Naiktha Bains and Maia Lumsden, Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls, and Freya Christie and Ali Collins.
Also five British men received a main draw wild card. Liam Broady leads the list, joined by Jan Choinski, Arthur Fery, George Loffhagen, and Ryan Peniston. The only non-British wild card recipient in the men's singles is former World No. 7, David Goffin.
The men's doubles wild cards also include some interesting names, as Jack Sock and John Isner will create a strong duo. They will be joined by Liam Broady and Jonny O'Mara, Julian Cash and Luke Johnson, Jacob Fearnley and Johannus Monday, and Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson, all all-British pairs.