Grand Slam champions Osaka, Raducanu, Wozniacki and Kerber receive wild cards for Wimbledon

Former Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Emma Raducanu received Wimbledon wild cards

WIMBLEDON, England – Former Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Emma Raducanu received wild cards at Wimbledon.

The grass court tournament starts on July 1st.

Osaka – a four-time major champion and former No. 1 player – and three-time Grand Slam winner Kerber returned from maternity leave at the start of this season.

Currently ranked 113th, Osaka was the only player to beat top-seeded Iga Swiatek in a set at the French Open and followed that up with a quarterfinal berth last week at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a warm-up event for Wimbledon.

Former US Open champion Raducanu made her Wimbledon debut by advancing to the fourth round in 2021. She will play there for the first time in two years after undergoing wrist and ankle surgery in 2023.

Kerber won the Wimbledon title in 2018 and was runner-up at the All England Club in 2016. She is also a former top player.

Wozniacki returned from maternity leave last August. She has never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon, where she will play for the first time since 2019.

British players Francesca Jones, Heather Watson and Yuriko Miyazaki were also included in the initial invitation list. A main draw wild card has yet to be allocated. Seven British players have been invited to compete in the men’s draw, including last year’s junior champion Henry Searle.

___

AP Tennis: