Wimbledon wildcard - Heather Watson profile: A closer look at the former British No 1

Heather Watson has had to rely on a wildcard to make the Wimbledon main draw this year, having not progressed beyond the first round of a Grand Slam this season. The 27-year-old, a former British No 1, will be hoping to replicate multiple past strong performances at The Championships.

The Briton has struggled to find her best form in 2019, losing in the second qualifying round at Roland Garros and suffering a comprehensive 6-1 6-2 defeat to 31st seed Petra Martic in the first round of the Australian Open. She remains in Team GB’s Fed Cup squad.

Watson, currently ranked 122nd in the world, has enjoyed reasonable preparation for the grass court season.

She was eliminated by 4th seed Maria Sakkari in Nottingham, but progressed to the quarter-final stage at Surbiton.

There, she triumphed over both Evgeniya Rodina and Madison Brengle, both ranked higher than her, getting past both the Russian and American in straight sets. This bodes well for her chances of at least replicating progress to the round of 32 at Wimbledon, a feat she has achieved on three separate occasions.

Best Wimbledon finish: Heather Watson has thrice reached the round of 32 stage at SW19. The most recent came in 2017, where her run was ended by a three-set defeat by Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Serena Williams had previously thwarted Watson at the same stage in 2015, again requiring three sets to get past the British player. Watson had first advanced this deep into the competition in 2012, when Agnieszka Radwanska dispatched of her 6-0 6-2.

In the mixed doubles, she is a Wimbledon champion. She won in 2016 with Finnish partner Henri Kontinen, before following this up with another final in 2017. She was thwarted on the latter occasion by Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis.

Grand Slam best: Watson has never bettered the round of 32 in any Grand Slam, but did match that achievement at the Australian Open in 2013. She suffered a straight sets loss to Radwanska of Poland, just as she had done at Wimbledon the previous year.

Highest ranking: Watson was ranked 38 in the world in early 2015. She has since fallen steadily, but has not had a year in which she has failed to feature in the top 100 since 2010. Her high this year is 93, achieved in January.

Current Ranking: 122

Age: 27

How did she perform last year? Watson was unable to replicate her best Wimbledon form in either the singles or the doubles. Belgium’s Flipkens inflicted a straight-sets defeat on her in the first round of the singles, while in the doubles she could only reach the round of 16 with long-term partner Henri Kontinen.