Grand Slam champions Osaka, Raducanu, Wozniacki and Kerber receive wild cards for Wimbledon

Britain's Emma Raducanu reacts as she plays against Britain's Katie Boulter in their women's semi-final match of the Rothesay Open at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre, Nottingham, England, Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Former Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Emma Raducanu have all been awarded wild cards for Wimbledon.

The grass-court tournament starts on July 1.

Osaka — a four-time major champion and former No. 1 player — and three-time Grand Slam winner Kerber returned from maternity leave at the start of this season.

Currently ranked 113th, Osaka was the only player to take a set from top-ranked Iga Swiatek at the French Open and followed that up with a quarterfinal spot last week in ’s-Hertogenbosch, a warm-up event for Wimbledon.

Former U.S. Open champion Raducanu made her breakthrough at Wimbledon by advancing to the fourth round in 2021. She will be playing there for the first time in two years after undergoing wrist and ankle surgery in 2023.

Caroline Wozniacki returns the ball to Elise Mertens in their women's singles match on day four of the Rothesay Classic at Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Kerber won the 2018 Wimbledon title and was runner-up at the All England Club in 2016. She is also a former top-ranked player.

Wozniacki returned from maternity leave last August. She's never got past the fourth round at Wimbledon, where she will be playing for the first time since 2019.

British players Francesca Jones, Heather Watson and Yuriko Miyazaki were also included in the initial list of invitations. One main draw wild card remains to be allocated. Seven British players have been invited to play in the men's draw, including last year’s junior champion Henry Searle.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Associated Press