Venus Williams, Elina Svitolina receive Wimbledon wild cards

London, June 21 (IANS) Five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus Williams and 2019 semifinalist Elina Svitolina were on Wednesday handed Wimbledon wild cards.

Joining Williams and Svitolina in the main draw are Katie Boulter, Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Katie Swan and Heather Watson.

Williams, who won the title in 2000-01, 2005 and 2007-08, will be playing her 24th main draw at the grass-court Grand Slam, while Svitolina will suit up for her ninth. In addition to her 2019 semifinal, where she lost to eventual winner Simona Halep, Svitolina also reached the fourth round in 2017.

This week, Williams earned her first Top 50 win in four years, and her first grass-court win since Wimbledon 2021, with a 3-hour, 17-minute triumph over Camila Giorgi in the first round of the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham.

In the men's singles, Belgian world no 124, David Goffin, who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2019 and 2022, has been awarded a wildcard along with five British players -- Ryan Peniston, Arthur Fery, Jan Choinski and George Loffhagen.

Wild cards are players whose world ranking is not high enough to qualify automatically for The Championships but are accepted into the main Championships draw at the discretion of the Committee. It is usually offered on the basis of past performance at Wimbledon or to increase British interest.

One more women's singles and two men's singles wild cards are still to be awarded.

The Wimbledon main draw begins on July 3.

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