This was an enormous day for American-based German player Sabine Lisicki, who defeated Marion Bartoli to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon, but I’m still trying to sort out whether the WTA Tour broke or stretched its own rules to allow her to accept a wild card into the tournament.
And if they did stretch or break the rules, why.
Page 59 of the official WTA Rules seems pretty clear:
“Except as otherwise set forth herein, the maximum number of Wild Cards any player may receive into singles WTA
Tournaments and Grand Slams during a Tour Year is six (6), with a maximum of three (3) allowed in the Main Draw.”
When Lisicki accepted a wild card into Wimbledon, it was her fourth main-draw card of the season, having taking cards into Key Biscayne (lost round of 32), Charleston (lost round of 16) and Stuttgart (lost quarterfinals) — all main draws and all WTA events.
According to the WTA Tour spokesman, “As Wimbledon is governed by the Grand Slam rules (not WTA rules), a wild card can be issued to a player, even if they have exceeded their wild card allotment for the year. A Grand Slam wild card does count toward a player’s quota. However, it cannot be the trigger for penalties.”
You can argue whether that’s a legitimate interpretation of the WTA rules, but the section coming right after that Page 59 paragraph seems a lot more clear cut:
“It is the player’s responsibility to track the number of Wild Cards she has used. Players will forfeit any ranking points
earned at WTA Tournaments and Grand Slams by the acceptance of Wild Cards above this limit. Wild Cards accepted into
ITF Women’s Circuit events count separately.”
Emphasis on: “. . .forfeit any ranking points earned at WTA Tournaments AND Grand Slams (my capital letters). . .”
Clearly, the Grand Slams have no jurisdiction over a player’s ranking points, so the argument that “this is a Grand Slam event” doesn’t seem to apply here. Ranking points are entirely within the purview of the WTA Tour. Yet, according to the spokesman for the WTA when asked whether Lisicki would have to forfeit her Wimbledon points, “There is no penalty for her having accepted a wild card into Wimbledon.”
A one-sentence response was all I got. I’ve pressed for a more detailed explanation, but at this time none has been forthcoming.
If and when we get a WTA detailed explanation, we’ll update this story.