Rusedski criticises Wimbledon for denying Evans singles wildcard
Greg Rusedski, former world number four and BBC commentator, has slammed Wimbledon's decision to deny retiring British tennis star Dan Evans a singles wildcard, describing it as an 'own goal'. Evans, who announced his retirement at the All England Club last month, was hoping to compete in the men's singles but was instead given a wildcard for the men's doubles—a decision he called 'disrespectful'.
Evans' doubles campaign ends quickly
Evans fell short in Wimbledon qualifying and his doubles campaign was short-lived, as he and fellow Brit Henry Searle were beaten in straight sets by Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Speaking after his exit, Evans expressed frustration: 'I know they don't like people voicing their views and I'm more than happy to voice mine. So not getting a wildcard was bewildering. I thought it was disrespectful, to be quite frank. But that's life. It's been a different way to end, but it's been pretty cool.'
Henman explains wildcard committee decision
Tim Henman, a board member at the All England Club, explained that there were limited wildcard spots and other players were prioritised. 'We would have loved to have given Dan Evans a wildcard but there were only eight in the main draw,' Henman said. 'The way it works is that the LTA come and present to a wildcard committee. They then leave the room and we have to decide. There were certainly six British players ahead of Dan for main draw wildcards and then we also wanted to give Grigor Dimitrov, who made the quarter finals here last year, and was up two sets to love against Jannik Sinner and then tore his pec muscle. And then Stan Wawrinka is a three time Grand Slam champion. Perhaps if there had been 12 or 13 main draw wildcards he would have got one but unfortunately it wasn't to be. He had a good performance in the first round of qualifying but then lost the second round. I am glad to say he was given a doubles wildcard with Henry Searle so he will get the opportunity of playing at the Championships in his last ever tournament.'
Rusedski: 'It would have been the right thing to do'
Rusedski, speaking on the Off Court podcast, argued that Evans deserved a farewell ceremony and a singles wildcard. 'The question you've got to ask yourself is how many male British players in the last 20 years have been in the top-30 in the world? That's one of the questions. And then also you've got to think that Dan Evans wanted to retire at Wimbledon. Tim Henman and I retired at the Davis Cup, Andy Murray announced his retirement at Wimbledon and then got a retirement ceremony. So he got what he wanted out of the situation. For Dan, I don't understand why the LTA would not try to go to the Club and say can we have a rule for all British tournaments. Loads of players want wildcards but only British players seem to get them at Queen's or Nottingham, that's it. But then at Wimbledon it's their choice with suggestions from the LTA. Since that was going to be his last-ever tournament, wouldn't it be good to back Dan and make a big deal out of him, maybe put on a ceremony to mark his last-ever game? Let's not forget he's the guy who gave up ranking points to play in the Olympics with a certain Sir Andy Murray, and that was a big sacrifice for him at the time given his ranking. I think it was a little bit of an own goal there. Yes he hasn't been playing full-time but come on, how many British wildcards have we seen who don't even have a chance of winning a match – and they get wildcards. I would have loved to see Dan get a singles wildcard and for them to make a big deal out of him. That would have been the right thing to do. It's a funny way to go out because he's playing doubles and there's nothing really made of it. We've been lucky to have Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu, Jack Draper and some excellent tennis players but it would have been nice to say thank you for your service, here's your wildcard and we wish you well. I understand where Dan's coming from even though he hasn't been playing full-time.'
Evans' reputation and career context
It has been suggested that Evans' fiery reputation could have been one of the reasons for his Wimbledon snub. Sir Andy Murray described his former doubles partner as 'a bit of a bad boy', with Evans previously receiving a one-year ban after testing positive for cocaine. Despite this, Rusedski emphasised Evans' contributions, including his sacrifice of ranking points to play in the Olympics with Murray.
