Tennis-Wimbledon sprinkles stardust on women’s draw as Osaka, Kerber and Wozniacki hand out wildcards | WSAU News/Talk 550 AM · 99.9 FM

(Reuters) – A trio of former world number ones, Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki, have been given wild cards for the main draw of next month’s Wimbledon championship, tournament organizers said on Wednesday.

Kerber, who is ranked 224th in the world after 18 months of maternity leave, won the tournament in 2018 and finished second in 2016.

Osaka and Wozniacki, who both also took long breaks from tour during their pregnancies, have five Grand Slam titles between them.

Japan’s Osaka, who reached the quarter-finals of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships last week, have reached the third round at Wimbledon twice, while Wozniacki has reached the last 16 six times.

Local hope and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who was sidelined for eight months last year after surgery on both wrists and an ankle, was also given a wildcard for the Grand Slam on the grass court.

Raducanu is ranked 165th in the world.

Britain’s Fran Jones, Lily Miyazaki and Heather Watson are the other players to gain entry into the women’s singles.

On the men’s side, all the players who received wildcards were from Great Britain, with Liam Broady a standout name.

One wildcard remains to be awarded in both the men’s and women’s draws.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra)