London, June 18 (IANS) Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of Czechia, who returned from maternity leave this year, along with British No.1 Dan Evans, are among the recipients of wild cards for the Wimbledon main draw. A mix of established names and the next tennis stars have been awarded entry to the main draw of The Championships, for which qualifying begins on June 23 and the main draw gets underway on June 30.

Kvitova became the first player born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam title when she defeated Maria Sharapova in the 2011 Wimbledon final. She went on to reclaim the Venus Rosewater Dish in 2014. The 35-year-old is currently ranked No. 572 and won the first match of her comeback in Rome last month over Irina-Camelia Begu.

Evans will compete in his 10th Wimbledon main draw after beating Frances Tiafoe to secure his best win by ranking since the Davis Cup in Manchester in 2023 at the HSBC Championships this week.

Other men joining Evans in being awarded wild cards are the 2023 boys’ singles champion Henry Searle, Jay Clarke, Jack Pinnington Jones, Johannus Monday, George Loffhagen, and Oliver Crawford.

Meanwhile, Jack Draper, Jacob Fearnley, Cam Norrie, and Billy Harris have gained direct entry to the men’s singles.

On the women’s side, Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, and Sonay Kartal all gain direct entry, with Kartal returning a year after becoming the first British woman to reach the third round as a qualifier since 1997.

After her run to the French Open girls’ singles final, Hannah Klugman will make her senior Grand Slam main draw debut after falling one step short of reaching the final round of qualifying last year. Fellow rising stars Mimi Xu and 2024 US Open girls’ singles champion Mika Stojsavljevic will join Klugman, along with Francesca Jones, Harriet Dart, Jodie Burrage, and Heather Watson.

For qualifying, five Brits received wild cards in each of the men’s and women’s draws. Arthur Fery, Oliver Tarvet, Ryan Peniston, Paul Jubb, and 2025 Lexus 18U Junior National Champion Oliver Bonding take the men’s spots, whilst Amarni Banks, Lily Miyazaki, Ella McDonald, Amelia Rajecki, and Ranah Stoiber take the women’s.

–IANS

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