Wimbledon wild cards: Stan Wawrinka, Ryan Peniston, Yuriko Miyazaki join Serena Williams on list
Wimbledon organisers have confirmed the initial wild cards for the 2022 Championships with seven-time champion Serena Williams and three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka the biggest names on the list.
Williams stunned the tennis community earlier in the day when she announced that she would be heading to SW19 following nearly a full year on the sidelines.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner’s last match was at the 2021 Championships when she picked up a leg injury during her first-round match.
With the American dropping out of the top 1,000 in the WTA Rankings and opting not use her protected ranking, she was handed a wild card.
Rising British star Sonay Kartel as well as Yuriko Miyazaki will feature in the main draw for the first time after receiving wild cards.
The 20-year-old Kartel, who shot to fame when she was Emma Raducanu’s rival on the juniors, won four consecutive ITF titles between February and May this year and was also part of Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team in April.
Serena Williams confirmed for a Wimbledon wild card.
Stan Wawrinka also among the recipients, plus the usual @GBtennis names. pic.twitter.com/0rlP6hac0O
— Andy Schooler (@SchoolerSport) June 14, 2022
Miyazaki, meanwhile, only switched her allegiance from Japan to Great Britain in March this year and claimed her first WTA Tour win at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham last week.
Katie Boulter, Jodie Burrage and Katie Swan have also been handed wild cards.
On the men’s side, former world No 3 Wawrinka goes into the main draw as he has recently returned to full fitness following several months on the sidelines.
Tim van Rijthoven, who stunned the tennis world last week, as he went from wild card to Libema Open champion. The Dutchman beat the top three seeds of Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jack Sock en route to winning his maiden ATP Tour title.
British No 7 Ryan Peniston, who stunned Casper Ruud in the Queen’s Club Championships first round on Tuesday, will also make his Wimbledon debut along with 23-year-old Alistair Gray.
Fellow Brits Liam Broady, Jay Clarke and Phil Jubb will also feature in the main draw.
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