If you’re a tennis player ranked outside the top 100 in the world and harbor aspirations of playing at Wimbledon, chances are, you’ll have to qualify. But everyone has to start somewhere and if you’re aiming for the top, what better place to start than Wimbledon?


Wimbledon, being one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, attracts the top ranked players from around the world. Out of the 128 players in both the men’s and women’s singles events, only 32 are given a seeded ranking, granting them automatic entry to the tournament. These players are selected according to their world rankings at the time and the seeding are slightly adjusted depending on their grass court prowess.

Apart from the seeds, a selected few lucky players who aren’t ranked high enough are given a ‘wild card’ entry to the tournament. These ‘wild cards’ were generally given to aspiring British tennis players. However, the criteria are now based on players who have a ranking above 250 on the ATP and WTA Tours. They may occasionally be given to a younger player who has shown outstanding results during the past year and who may be of notable interest to fans and press at Wimbledon.

Players hoping to qualify to play at Wimbledon should already be regularly playing on either the men’s ATP or women’s WTA tour so they have a world ranking position. In order to compete for the qualifying event, prospective players must submit their entry six weeks prior to the qualifying competition which is held during the week before The Championships.

The main singles qualifying events involve three rounds of intense competition played out on the grass courts at the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton. The qualifiers making it through to the Wimbledon Championships are those who win all three rounds of qualifying. In total, 16 men and12 women along with four pairs for the Ladies’ and Men’s Doubles can qualify.

Even those not making it through the final round of qualifying are still in with a chance of playing at Wimbledon. These ‘lucky losers’ will be chosen according to their world ranking placement and picked to fill any shortfall in the final draw at Wimbledon.

Those hoping to qualify for the junior Wimbledon tournament will have to undergo similar qualifying competitions for singles events. Criteria for entry to Wimbledon are based on their current International Tennis Federation world rankings and recommendation from their national tennis associations.

Whether or not you’ve got what it takes to qualify for Wimbledon, why not watch the qualifying rounds to see what it’s all about. You can watch them free at the Roehampton courts and it’s a great place to spot future aspiring champions.

Although no qualifier has ever won the men’s or ladies’ singles Championships, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen one day. After all, John McEnroe was a qualifier who made it through to the semi-finals in 1977. And just making it through qualifying to Wimbledon itself is an incredible achievement. Not many tennis players can say they played at Wimbledon. So get practicing.