Dan Evans described his Wimbledon wildcard snub as 'shambolic' and a 'piss-take' after the British tennis star played his final professional tennis match at the All England Club. Evans brought down the curtain on his playing career with a straight-set defeat in the men's doubles alongside fellow countryman Henry Searle.
Wildcard Controversy
The 36-year-old had hoped to appear in the singles competition but was controversially not given a wildcard despite announcing in June that this tournament would be his last. Evans attempted to go through qualifying but was beaten in his second match at Roehampton after requests for a wildcard at Queen's and a Challenger event at Ilkley were also turned down. Six British male players were handed a wildcard, with Evans taking aim at the LTA for not explaining to him why he had been overlooked.
'The last month has been nothing short of a shambles from them,' Evans said. 'That's the bottom line. Nobody has given me a decent reason. If they said, listen, you're a bit overweight right now. No, I'm serious. Like, you're a bit out of shape but nobody's had the minerals or however you want to phrase it to come over from the governing body, who I think I have done plenty for, and given me an explanation.'
Lack of Communication
Evans criticized the lack of communication from Wimbledon and the LTA. 'I think that's just… it's pride, isn't it? I don't know. Is that the word? And if you're not going to do that, and it's certainly not Jamie Baker's job to come and give me the reason why he didn't give me a wildcard. It's not the tournament director to do that. I just think somebody could have come and, you know, sit down and speak. Like, jeez, they get paid enough. Like that's their job. I'm not angry, but jeez, tell the truth.'
Injuries and Evans' increased coaching workload have limited his playing time in recent months, but the Brit was still disappointed by how little the tournament had communicated with him in the build-up to his final event. 'Listen, I would have loved to play singles,' he added. 'Don't give me some nonsense answer about they're all gone to Ilkley. Come on, guys. That's a total p***-take for me. Excuse my French. If you can't have a conversation and be honest… Listen, if they turned around and say, listen, you've hardly played. But it was, like, you're a coach, you're not getting one.'
Defense of Coaching Work
Evans defended his coaching role, saying he was helping another Brit while injured. 'No, I was out there helping another Brit when I've been injured. I didn't see any of those guys out there helping Henry when he needed help. So that was my point. It's nothing against the club, but somebody come and have a conversation. Communication is a big thing in tennis. That's my point. Are they working this week? I have not seen any of them. Seriously. No one spoke to me this week. No one has congratulated me on my career this week.'
Henman's Explanation
Speaking on BBC while on punditry duties, former British number one Tim Henman said Wimbledon would have 'loved' to give Evans a wildcard but didn't have enough space. 'The way it works is that the LTA come and present to a wildcard committee,' he said. '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.'
