What Is a Wild Card In Tennis?

On the professional tennis tours, tournament draws are primarily filled out by players who rank high enough to qualify. However, every tournament draw also holds a few extra spots open for players who are directly invited to play by the tournament organizers. 

This is precisely what a wild card is in tennis – a notable player invited to a tournament in spite of their too-low ranking. 

Wild cards often receive their bid for one of two reasons. They may be a prominent tour player whose ranking has dropped because of a recent injury that kept them from playing on tour. 

Wild cards may also be a local player whose presence would generate increased local interest – for example, a New Englander invited to the U.S. Open. 

Wimbledon Wild Cards

Wimbledon’s 2024 wild cards included some prominent names – Liam Broady, Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu, and Caroline Wozniacki, among others.