Reigning champion Tatjana Maria shocked by Queen’s wildcard snub | Tennis

Tatjana Maria, the reigning Queen’s Club women’s champion, has revealed her shock at not ­receiving a wildcard to defend her title this week, suggesting winning last year’s tournament should command greater respect.

The German was snubbed for a wildcard in favour of four lower-ranked British players, forcing her to go through qualifying in west ­London. A year on from winning the title aged 37, she successfully ­navigated back-to-back matches on Sunday to make it into 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,” she said. “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.”

Maria’s victory provided a ­remarkable denouement to the return of women’s tennis to Queen’s for the first time in 52 years. Watched courtside by her two daughters, she embarked on a giantkilling run, defeating four top-20 opponents in a row to become the oldest WTA 500 champion. Incredibly, her ­triumph followed a nine-match ­losing streak heading into the tournament. Her ­picture now hangs on the wall of an elite club that granted her ­honorary lifetime membership after her triumph.

“The response from everybody around was really huge when they knew I didn’t get the wildcard,” she said. “A lot of members here came to me and said: ‘Really, we don’t understand why you didn’t get the wildcard.’

“So it was super nice, from ­members, from players and from journalists, all around the world I got a lot of positive feedback. I was ­surprised about it and I was really happy that everybody said something to try to help me.”

Maria sits 52nd in the world ­rankings, 34 places higher than last year, but not sufficient to earn direct entry to the tournament. This year’s wildcards were granted to the ­British quartet Katie Boulter (world No 73), Fran Jones (world No 98), ­Harriet Dart (world No 160), and Mika ­Stojsavljevic (world No 261).

An LTA spokesperson said: “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.

“We have seen British success at these events, and breakthrough wins, so there is clear value in giving British players these development opportunities.”

Having come through her two qualifying matches, Maria will face the former world No 3 Maria Sakkari in the first round on Tuesday, hoping that ­Sunday’s gruelling exertions could play in her favour.

“Yesterday was tough playing two matches in one day, especially on grass,” she said. “But it gives you time on the grass, because players at the beginning have not so much practice time.

“It’s good for me to have the two matches in my bag to get the feeling ­better. I hope it’s going to help for the next matches.”