Tatjana Maria believes reigning champions at the Queen’s Club Championships should be treated with more respect after she wasn’t issued with a wildcard.
The world No.52 missed out on all four wildcard spots, which were given to British players ranked lower than her. 12 months ago Maria produced a stunning run in London by coming through the qualifying rounds before producing wins over Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova en route to the title. At the time she became the oldest player to win a WTA 500 event at the age of 37.
Despite her fairytale run, Maria still missed out on a pass for this year’s main draw where she is defending 500 points. Instead, she beat Lily Miyazaki and Kamilla Rakhimova in the qualifying event to reach the main draw.
“I was pretty sure to get a wildcard, or I was hoping to get a wildcard, because I did it [win] last year,” Maria told reporters on Monday. “It was not five years ago.
“I was surprised when I got the message of [the tournament director] Laura Robson saying all the wildcards would go to the British players, which I understand, of course, but as a champion, it’s tough for me [to accept]. I thought I deserved a wildcard.
“You have to respect the player in general. It is something that should be normal. If you are champion of an event and you don’t get in the year after, I think automatically this should be considered. It’s something out of respect.”
This year’s wildcards were given to Katie Boulter (No.73), Fran Jones (No.98), Harriet Dart (No.160), and Mika Stojsavljevic (No.261). Dart has won her first round match with the other three Brits yet to either play or finish their matches. Poor weather delayed the start to play on Monday.
In a statement issued via BBC Sport, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have defended their decision to not hand Maria a pass.
“The LTA owns and invests in staging these events for the benefit of the British game as a whole – so fans can see world class international players from around the world, and support our British players, but also so British players are afforded the playing opportunities to progress their careers and climb the rankings,” a spokesperson said.
“We have seen British success at these events, and breakthrough wins, so there is clear value in giving British players these development opportunities.”
Maria will play Greece’s Maria Sakkari on Tuesday with the winner facing top seed Rybakina in the last 16.
