Wimbledon 2026: How are wildcards decided?

American tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams are among the names confirmed as wildcard entries for Wimbledon 2026.

The sisters will compete again as a doubles team, having previously won six doubles titles together at the grass-court Grand Slam – their last victory coming a decade ago in 2016.

Wildcard places are extra spots given to players who did not qualify automatically, usually through their ranking, for a tennis tournament.

They have been awarded at Wimbledon since 1977 and are at the discretion of the committee of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Places are often awarded to players based on their previous performances at Wimbledon, or to increase British participation in the competition.

They can also go to star names from the sport who have fallen down the rankings but whose presence could lift the tournament.

An example of that came with the wildcard awarded this year to three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka, who will play his last Wimbledon before retirement.

They can also go to players making waves in the game, such as Poland’s Maja Chwalinska, who was a shock French Open runner-up this month – a feat she achieved after the rankings cut-off for automatic entry to Wimbledon.

Chwalinska was recognised for that run with a Wimbledon wildcard, having soared from outside the top 100 up to 21st in the world.

In 2001, three-time former runner-up Goran Ivanisevic famously won the men’s singles title as a wildcard entry, while Serena and Venus Williams twice won the women’s doubles from the same starting point.

The most recent wildcard champions at Wimbledon were Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen in the men’s doubles in 2012.

Andy and Jamie Murray were handed wildcard entries into the men’s doubles two years ago, but they were knocked out in the first round.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.