Resilient Racket: Ofner’s Triumph and Wimbledon Wildcard

Sebastian Ofner, a 27-year-old Austrian professional tennis player, secured a wildcard for Wimbledon despite losing in the final of the 145,000-euro grass field tournament on Saturday, June 24th. Ofner made his ATP main draw debut at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships after going through qualifying, reaching the third round of the tournament. Wimbledon announced most of its wildcards on June 21st, with former Top 10 star David Goffin and Liam Broady headlining the list.

Wimbledon wildcards have been allocated since 1977, and since 2003, some singles wildcards have been determined by competition. The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is responsible for nominating players for wildcards into The Championships, Wimbledon. Six wildcards are available for entry into each of the Men’s and Women’s Play-off events, and four wildcards for each gender will be allocated in accordance with the LTA’s Wild Card Recommendation Policy. Wimbledon announced most of its wildcards on June 21st, with two main draw singles wildcards still to be allocated. The tournament organizers allocate wildcards to players who belong to the top of the game, even though they may not have qualified through the ranking system. Additionally, the LTA holds Wimbledon Wild Card Play Offs, which include 10 direct entries based on ranking, as well as wildcards for the winners on the UK Pro League, LTA British Tour, the LTA’s National Championships, and the LTA’s International Challenger events.