Elina Svitolina and Venus Williams handed the wildcard at Wimbledon as Russian and Belarusian players return

The Ukrainian had earlier expressed doubts over her participation in this year's Wimbledon.

Elina Svitolina and Venus Williams handed the wildcard at Wimbledon as Russian and Belarusian players return

Elina Svitolina and Venus Williams (Credits: WTA, The Guardian)

It’s time for the Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina to get elated as she finally gets an entry with the wildcard to Wimbledon. All she can do is put in her hard work and hope for a great impact on the Court. Svitolina had recently expressed concerns about her participation in the upcoming Wimbledon, as the deadline for the top 100 closed before she could enter the ranking.

In an interview with Talking Tennis, she said that she was hoping for a wildcard entry for the grass court as it appeared to be her only chance to compete at the prestigious event, or else she would miss the tournament this year. “I’m not playing next week because I didn’t sign up. I’m not getting directly into Wimbledon because the signing closed before I entered the top 100. We’ll see. Hopefully, I get a chance for a wild card,” said the 28-year-old.

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Similarly, former champion Venus Williams also gets the wildcard. Williams, a five-time winner at the Championships, had no other possible way to make the main draw unless for a wildcard. Ranked outside the Top 600, her spoils of the past made her eligible for the chance. At the age of 43, she once again returns to the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon.

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This year, the Russian and Belarussian players will also be participating in the grass court. Last year they were forbidden to play due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. This might pose as an additional challenge for Svitolina, as she finally gets an entry with a wildcard. Svitolina last participated in the Birmingham Classic where she lost to Linda Fruhvirtova in straight sets in the first round. Williams however went on to reach the second round where she will now take on Jelena Ostapenko.

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List of women who received the Wimbledon wildcard

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Elina Svitolina (Image via Reuters)

In tennis, a wild card is usually an invitation that would allow a player to participate in that specific event to which they could not participate due to their ranking. At the Grand Slams and some big ATP and WTA tournaments, the number of wild cards given is usually 8. In smaller tournaments, it reduces to 2 or 4.

Wild Cards are usually given to 5 different sorts of players by the tournament organization. local players, young and up-and-coming players, players recovering from injury, winners of previous wildcard tournaments, and recipients of wildcard swaps. These invitations are offered to players who the tournament’s organization believes the audience will enjoy, and so all a player can do is request a wildcard and hope for the best.

All women single players who received the wild card apart from Svitolina in the upcoming Wimbledon:-

  • Katie BOULTER (GBR)
  • Jodie BURRAGE (GBR)
  • Harriet DART (GBR)
  • Katie SWAN (GBR)
  • Heather WATSON (GBR)
  • Venus WILLIAMS (USA)

As these women who received the wild card, the tennis world will remain attentive to their situation. The granting of a wild card would offer these ladies a much-needed opportunity to showcase their talent on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

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