Four British Players Awarded Wildcards for Queen’s Tournament
Tatjana Maria, the defending women’s champion at the Queen’s Club tournament, has expressed her surprise at not receiving a wildcard to defend her title this year. She suggested that her victory last year should have earned her greater recognition and respect.
The German player was overlooked for a wildcard in favor of four lower-ranked British competitors, which required her to enter the tournament through the qualifying rounds in west London. On Sunday, she successfully won two consecutive matches to secure a place in the main draw.
“I was pretty sure to get a wildcard, or I was hoping to get a wildcard, because I did it [win] last year,” she said. “It was not like five years ago, it was last year. To come back like a champion, I hoped, and I thought, I would get a wildcard.
“I was surprised when I got the message of [tournament director] Laura Robson saying all the wildcards would go to the British players, which I understand, of course, but as a champion, it’s tough for me [to accept]. With respect for me, I thought I deserved a wildcard.
“You have to respect the player in general. It is something that should be normal. If you are champion of an event and you don’t get in the year after, I think automatically this should be considered. It’s something out of respect.”
Maria’s triumph last year marked a remarkable return of women’s tennis to Queen’s Club after a 52-year absence. With her two daughters watching courtside, she defeated four top-20 players consecutively to become the oldest WTA 500 champion in history. This achievement was particularly notable given she had entered the tournament on a nine-match losing streak.
Following her victory, Maria was granted honorary lifetime membership at the club, a testament to her outstanding performance.
Maria shared that the reaction from the tennis community and club members to her wildcard omission was overwhelmingly supportive.
“The response from everybody around was really huge when they knew I didn’t get the wildcard,” she said. “A lot of members here came to me and said: ‘Really, we don’t understand why you didn’t get the wildcard.’
“So it was super nice, from members, from players and from journalists, all around the world I got a lot of positive feedback. I was surprised about it and I was really happy that everybody said something to try to help me.”
Currently ranked 52nd in the world, Maria has improved her position by 34 places compared to last year, but this was still insufficient for direct entry into the tournament. The wildcards were awarded to British players Katie Boulter (world No. 73), Fran Jones (world No. 98), Harriet Dart (world No. 160), and Mika Stojsavljevic (world No. 261).
An LTA spokesperson explained the rationale behind the wildcard selections:
“The LTA owns and invests in staging these events for the benefit of the British game as a whole – so fans can see world-class international players from around the world, and support our British players, but also so British players are afforded the playing opportunities to progress their careers and climb the rankings.
“We have seen British success at these events, and breakthrough wins, so there is clear value in giving British players these development opportunities.”
After advancing through qualifying, Maria is set to face former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari from Greece in the first round. She hopes that the experience gained from her two matches on Sunday will be advantageous.
“Yesterday was tough playing two matches in one day, especially on grass,” Maria said. “But it gives you time on the grass, because players at the beginning have not so much practice time on the grass courts.
“It’s good for me to have the two matches in my bag and to practise on the grass to get the feeling better. I hope it’s going to help for the next matches.”
