Wimbledon unveils its first set of SW19 slam wildcards… and the lucky few – including 10 British contenders – will pocket £55,000 – even if they lose in the first round!
- The first wild cards for the Wimbledon main draw were revealed on Wednesday
- Players will get £55,000 even if they drop out in the first round on SW19
- On the men’s side at Wimbledon, there are three lesser known British entrants
British tennis players share a minimum windfall of £550,000 after Wimbledon proved generous with its first round of wildcards.
Valued at £55,000 each, even if you lose in the first round, five GB men and five women were given privileged entry into the main draw when the list was revealed on Wednesday morning.
In addition, 43-year-old Venus Williams will return to the championships alongside former world No. 3 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Belgian David Goffin.
Three of the UK’s men’s names will be lesser known, even to those who follow the sport closely, but the All England Club – which makes the decision based on representations from the Lawn Tennis Association – has decided to introduce a take a chance on them.
Jan Choinski is the world number 167 who was born and raised in Germany, but qualifies for GB through his mother, who was born in Southampton.
George Loffhagen, number 364, has received a wildcard for the Wimbledon main draw
Wildcards have also been handed out to Jan Choinski (left) and Arthur Fery (right)
Ranking 386, Arthur Fery attended Stanford University in California and is considered to have a real career opportunity.
George Loffhagen is in 364th place and managed to win two games in Nottingham last week.
He was an extremely promising junior who gave up the sport for a while but has now rekindled his enthusiasm.
The question will be whether the large amount of wildcards handed out during grass season contributes to a mellow culture in British play that shows itself at other times of the year.