An emotional Dan Evans branded the handling of his retirement a ‘p***-take’ and a ‘shambles’ after the former British number one ended his professional career playing Wimbledon doubles on tiny Court 15.
The former British number one was controversially not given a wildcard into the men’s singles draw despite this championships being his final tournament and Evans claims no one from the LTA had ‘the minerals’ to give him a reason.
Evans, who then lost in qualifying, bowed out alongside young Brit Henry Searle in the first round of the men’s doubles and broke down in tears as he received a huge ovation from the small crowd, some of whom wore ‘thank you Dan’ t-shirts.
Moments after his defeat, the LTA posted a series of messages on social media, including tributes from Andy Murray.
‘The last month has been nothing short of a shambles from them,’ said Evans. ‘That’s the bottom line.
‘Nobody has given me a decent reason. If they said, listen, you’re a bit overweight right now. No, I’m serious. Like, 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 think I have done plenty for, and given me an explanation.
Dan Evans, left, branded the handling of his retirement a ‘p***-take’ and a ‘shambles’ after his career playing Wimbledon doubles on tiny Court 15
Fans came out in force, with some wearing ‘Thanks Dan’ t-shirts, with Evans breaking down in tears post-match
‘I think that’s just… it’s pride, isn’t it? I don’t know. Is that the word? And if you’re not going to do that, and it’s certainly not Jamie Baker’s job to come and give me the reason why he didn’t give me a wildcard. It’s not the tournament director to do that.
‘I just think somebody could have come and, you know, sit down and speak. Like, jeez, they get paid enough. Like that’s their job.
‘I’m not angry, but jeez, tell the truth.’
Evans was not one of the eight wildcards handed out for the men’s singles draw, with six other Brits given one as well as Grigor Dimitrov, who was two sets up against Jannik Sinner before getting injured, and the also-retiring Stan Wawrinka.
‘We would have loved to have given Dan Evans a wildcard but there were only eight in the main draw,’ former British number one Tim Henman explained while on punditry duties for 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.’
Evans said he knew the writing was on the wall when he wasn’t even handed a wildcard to the ATP Challenger Ilkley earlier this month.
Evans claimed no-one from the LTA had given him a reason for being snubbed for a men’s singles wildcard
Evans ultimately ended his career playing in the men’s doubles alongside Henry Searle
‘You can’t give me a wildcard into Ilkley,’ continued Evans, who sacrificed his own ranking points to play alongside Murray in the Scot’s final match at the Paris Olympics. ‘The reasoning was they was all given out. I have been playing tennis for 16 years on the tour, and I have always known that the wildcards aren’t given out on a Monday.
‘Listen, I would have loved to play singles. Don’t give me some nonsense answer about they’re all gone to Ilkley. Come on, guys. That’s a total p***-take for me. Excuse my French.
‘If you can’t have a conversation and be honest… Listen, if they turned around and say, listen, you’ve hardly played. But it was, like, you’re a coach, you’re not getting one.
‘No, I was out there helping another Brit when I’ve been injured. I didn’t see any of those guys out there helping Henry when he needed help. So that was my point. It’s nothing against the club, but somebody come and have a conversation.
‘Communication is a big thing in tennis. That’s my point. Are they working this week? I have not seen any of them. Seriously. No one spoke to me this week. No one has congratulated me on my career this week.
‘It was obviously two extra players on the court than how I expected it to finish. But listen, I have enjoyed every time I stepped on court here. We’re extremely lucky to have this as our home Grand Slam.
‘It was nice to finish playing with Henry, someone who I have obviously started to work a lot with and see sort of develop a bit. It’s a pretty cool way to finish.
‘And, yeah, I have had plenty of time to sort of know it was coming. So, yeah, in a strange way I’m happy it’s over. Sort of the door closes, and then another chapter starts.
‘I actually messaged someone a minute ago saying it was quite cool that it was Court 15. I had never been out there. It was all a bit fitting for how the last month has gone for me. It was pretty cool that, you know, the ground passes got on, and I enjoyed every minute of it.’
