Dan Evans launches furious rant at Wimbledon ‘shambles’ after being denied wildcard

English tennis player Dan Evans has unleashed on the Lawn Tennis Association after he ended his career on a sad note.

The 36-year-old had been vocal about his intentions to retire after Wimbledon this year and was hopeful of receiving a wildcard for the gentlemen’s singles.

Getty

Despite climbing as high as 21st in the ATP rankings and winning the Davis Cup for Great Britain, Evans was not given a wildcard.

Instead, his Wimbledon swansong came in the form of a straight sets defeat in gentlemen’s doubles.

Evans and his partner, Henry Seale, were brushed aside 6-2, 6-4 by ninth seeds Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin on Court 15.

The veteran struggled to hold back the tears once his match was complete as the curtain was officially brought down on his professional career.

Evans: LTA didn’t have ‘the minerals’ to explain snub

However, Evans’ devastation quickly turned to frustration during his post-match press conference.

“The last month has been nothing short of a shambles from them (LTA),” Evans said.

“That’s the bottom line. You speak to people, you talk to people.

“I just don’t understand the reasoning and nobody has given me a decent reason.

“If they said, ‘Listen, you’re a bit overweight right now, you’re a bit out of shape’. But nobody’s had the minerals, or however you want to phrase it, to come over from the governing body, who I have done plenty for, and given me an explanation.

“I just think somebody could have come and sat down and spoke. That’s their job.”

Getty

Tim Henman explains why Evans didn’t get a wildcard

Although it may not have been communicated to Evans at the time, British tennis great Tim Henman later explained the reason why a wildcard was not forthcoming.

“We would have loved to have given Dan Evans a wildcard but there were only eight in the main draw,” Henman told the BBC.

“The way it works is that the LTA come and present to a wildcard committee. They then leave the room and we have to decide.

“There were certainly six British players ahead of Dan for main draw wildcards and then we also wanted to give Grigor Dimitrov, who made the quarter finals here last year, and was up two sets to love against Jannik Sinner and then tore his pec muscle. And then Stan Wawrinka is a three time Grand Slam champion.

“Perhaps if there had been 12 or 13 main draw wildcards he would have got one but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”

Although the LTA may not have directly explained to Evans why he did not receive a wildcard for the gentlemen’s singles, they put out a series of tributes for the 36-year-old following his doubles defeat.

Henman, Jack Draper and Andy Murray, who Evans played alongside at the Paris Olympics, all hailed the veteran’s impact on British tennis.