Wimbledon wildcards 2017 - Women

the addict · Tennis legend

Wimbledon wildcards 2017

theemptyvessel · Club Coach

Curious though that she denied on Twitter yesterday that she would play Wimbledon so for now it looks like she is going to ease herself in with some smaller tournaments and maybe return to the majors at the US Open. Mixed signals at the moment though so you never know.

the addict · Tennis legend

Posting this here for now - Wimbledon Entry Lists are out

Azerenka and Kvitova are in the main draw, Jo is at 8
In the qualies (alts) list
Heather is 12, Naomi 16, and Tara 38
Katy Dunne is at 117 and Katie Swan at 122

skibbarriz · Strong Club Player

Giving Tara a MDWC is a waste of time. She's doesn't have crowd appeal and she isn't going to do any damage in the draw. Let her prove herself in qualies. I know she won a round last year while on that run but how many has she received overall. She's barely done anything with them and she's not on a run of form that suggests she will do anything with one this year. Sure, she'll likely be gifted one but might as well not bother. Let her prove herself earn her place on merit. Like Indy, I'm not a massive fan of the WC system as it stands.

Use it to assist young players coming through, or players who have floated around 200-400 and recently shown remarkable improvement and run of results, like we've seen it used for. But not another one to Tara Moore, just because she's there. She's 24 now, she's passed the young prospect stage and had her generous opportunities via WC's. At some stage, the player has got to show you something to be worth another one.

Peter too · Tennis legend

Tara is at a career high of 145 at present. In the last year she has reached several $25K finals and one $50K final, though that is coming up for renewal shortly.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I agree with Peter.

A WR of 145 is pretty close to the cut-off of main draw entry and very much deserving of a wildcard. It's true that in the past, with its 250 cut-off policy, the LTA was accused of sending lambs to the slaughter and there was some point in that argument - sending a player ranked 240 (say) to play one ranked about 60 is not much of a match and it can look as though you're just writing a cheque to the GB player.
But that doesn't apply to a player ranked 145.

I also think that 24 is young (still a couple of years below her likely peak) and can still come under the 'helpful hand' for up-and-coming players.

As to not having 'crowd appeal', I'm not sure that's relevant and even if it is, I don't see why Tara shouldn't have it.
In fact, if you're going to go for the 'crowd appeal' argument, you should also consider the 'diversity' argument, and that would argue definitely in favour of Tara getting the wildcard. (Again, not 100% sure I go for that argument either but both arguments do have a certain relevance and you can't really go for one and not the other i.e. if you're going to accept non-tennis things in the equation, then both are valid).

blob · All-time great

I think you both have a point.
Tara is at her best ranking, and clearly is capable at her best.
2017 has not seen her at anywhere near her best.
The ranking is mostly derived from performances last year.
After week 1, when she reached the Hong Kong $25K final (albeit without playing anyone in the top 200), Tara has won six matches.
That may be as a consequence of aiming high - almost all of her matches in that period have been in WTA qualifying (as befits her ranking), or $60K plus prestige ITF's . The only exception was the $25K in Altenkirchen, where she got two of those six wins.
She's played a higher ranked player 4 times, and lost all 4.
She's also lost to a lower ranked player 8 times from 18 matches, including 4 losses to players outside the top 300.

Clearly good on grass, and not just presumed to be good on grass (as are other Brits, though their stats tell a different story), if the dealine allows, I'd wait to see her first few results on the surface this year before deciding on a WC. Arbitrary? Perhaps. But then, it is, after all, literally a wildcard!

paulisi · Tennis legend

Tara will get a main draw wildcard.

-- Edited by paulisi on Wednesday 24th of May 2017 08:40:34 PM

wimdledont · Challenger level

Tara hasn't had a great year in 2017, and is around 225 in the Race.

But she picked up just short of 200 grass court points in 2016, probably inside the top 30 in the world over the last 12 months; and her current career high suggests that her current ytd is better than last year. She's on a comparable ranking to JoKo at the same age - around ten places ahead of Jo on her 24th birthday, and 120 or so short of where Jo fetched up on her 25th. Female athletes should peak at around 26. (Male = 28).

She's only received MDWCs in 2014 and 2016. In 2015 she was spectacularly shabbily treated, en route to winning a qWC via the play-offs, and ending up semi-injured in the process, after playing around 20 matches in just over as many days. She should definitely get a MDWC in 2017, especially since the slump of Heather and Naomi and the presence of Shazzer leaves her lower down the WTA grass court WC lists through no fault of her own..

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

With Tara ranked as high as she is currently, there would need to be a very good reason not to give her a WC, a I definitely think she should get one. Tara does have a vital part of the season coming up with over half of her current points tally won on the grass last year, and if she will have to play very well just to stay close to her current ranking.

skibbarriz · Strong Club Player

She's been a professional player for six years. That's long enough to see what someone's calibre is. She's not good enough to get into slam main draws by herself, never has been. And unlike James Ward or Laura Robson, she doesn't have public profile. By which i mean how many British people who will be watching wimby would think to name her if you asked them to name all the female British players they can think of. Very few. Plus she's not on a run of form that says she deserves to dropped straight into main draw in a slam.

For me this adds up to her not deserving a WC. But i recognise that in the current culture she will get one.

And if you are to compare her with Konta, mingled with thoughts about the value of continually supporting people; Jo's turn around as we know had nothing to do with being granted wild cards. Her sudden independence of all things LTA was a key trigger. If wildcards really were the answer to progression, Boggo and Arvind Parmar would have been winning calendar slams.

The criteria for WC's is tougher now than it used to be. And i would have it tougher and more discerning still. And I'd cut the amount of WCs' slams have in the first place. But luckily for them all i'm not in charge.

Jaggy1876 · Grand Slam Champion

I think Tara should get a MDWC this year but also agree regarding her profile and current form. I also think Katie Boulter may get one. She's a pretty girl as well and rightly or wrongly she will soon get media attention because of this.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Is Tara in peak form at the moment ? No
Is Tara on grass a special player ? Yes
Can Tara do herself justice at Wimby ? Yes

Basically Tara does reach the grade for a MDWC on ranking, and given her ability on a grasscourt eventhough she's not currently playing her best tennis, can be very effective and certainly will not be outclassed so 100% yes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! should get a MDWC.

indiana · Tennis legend

Given we unfortunately ( to me ) have Slam MD WCs, Tara's case re her ranking and proven grass court abilities are pretty clear, well summed up by Phil.

In this context I couldn't care an iota about her wider appeal / profile. As soon as these are considerations for Slams, which are tennis's ultimate competition, more than what happens on the tennis court then I think it's fairly farcical. Maybe the WTA could hold popularity contests for Slam WCs. Top few home nation and top few other nations' players getting the MD WCs. They could include a swimsuit section.

Many no doubt agree Katie B for instance looks great. Her tennis is also looking very good recently. The latter is relevant, the former may say give her promotional opportunities but absolutely should not be relevant for aiding entry into a Slam.

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

Totally agree!! These recent references to Katie B being more deserving of a WC than others due to her looks have made me feel quite uncomfortable.