“Already what I did final yr was superb and to be a champion right here, I believed I deserved a wildcard and to get a bit little bit of respect.”
In additional feedback to reporters, Maria added: “I did it final yr. It was not 5 years in the past.
“I used to be shocked once I obtained the message of [tournament director] Laura Robson saying all of the wildcards would go to the British gamers, which I perceive. However as a champion, it is robust for me.
“It’s one thing that ought to be regular. If you’re champion of an occasion and you aren’t getting within the yr after, I feel routinely this ought to be thought-about.”
Maria, watched by her two daughters, beat 4 top-20 gamers en path to the title, turning into the oldest winner of a WTA 500 event.
She is ranked 52nd on this planet – too low to earn direct entry for the 28-strong predominant draw however larger than every of the 4 British gamers awarded wildcards.
This yr’s recipients had been Katie Boulter (world quantity 73), Fran Jones (98), Harriet Dart (160), and Mika Stojsavljevic (261).
A spokesperson for the Garden Tennis Affiliation (LTA) stated: “The LTA owns and invests in staging these occasions for the advantage of the British sport as an entire – so followers can see world class worldwide gamers from all over the world, and assist our British gamers, but additionally so British gamers are afforded the enjoying alternatives to progress their careers and climb the rankings.
“We’ve got seen British success at these occasions, and breakthrough wins, so there’s clear worth in giving British gamers these improvement alternatives.”
