Local tennis star Billy Harris has been given the chance to battle his way into the Wimbledon main draw after being handed a qualifying wildcard by the All-England Club.

Harris has featured heavily during the grass court summer so far, competing in the main draw of the LTA’s Lexus Surbiton Trophy and qualifying at the LTA’s Rothesay Open Nottingham and LTA’s cinch Championships at Queen’s.

And the 28-year-old, currently ranked 335th in the world, will get the chance to prove himself once again on home turf during what has been a busy period for British players.

‘Every grass season you are looking forward to a lot of players getting a lot of opportunities,’ said the LTA’s head of men’s tennis, Leon Smith.

‘Whether that is your established players, they get to play at home which is important on a surface they enjoy playing on to younger players who get wildcard opportunities, to gain some experience and exposure to the level.

‘For all the players, to play at home means a lot to them and you have got a good run at it here for five or six weeks. You can have family and friends come and watch them play which isn’t normally the case and there is no doubt that it does give an extra edge.’

Action on the leafy lawns of Roehampton gets underway on Monday, June 26 ahead of main draw action at the All-England Club beginning the following week.

Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Andy Murray lead the challenge for Britain in the men’s singles, with the trio all in the top 40 of the ATP rankings and already assured of their place in the draw.

Now Broady, Jan Choinski, Ryan Peniston, George Loffhagen and Arthur Fery have been awarded wildcards into the main draw, after all five served up impressive performances in 2023.

Wimbledon qualifying wildcards have also been awarded to other British players Toby Samuel and Johannus Monday. LTA 18 and under Junior Nationals champion Luca Pow is also set to play in qualifying.

Two additional places will be awarded to the finalists from the Wimbledon wildcard play offs currently taking place.

Harris was also handed a wildcard for the event 12 months ago.

l For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website.