Resurgent Australian tennis star Daria Saville scores Wimbledon wildcard as reward for extraordinary comeback season

Daria Saville was ranked 627 in the world in February after a torrid run with injury but her eye-catching comeback has caught Wimbledon officials’ attention.

Wimbledon has rewarded Daria Saville with a singles wildcard into this year’s tournament. Picture: Getty Images

Resurgent Australian tennis star Daria Saville has beaten Wimbledon to the punch on her much-deserved wildcard announcement.

Saville will make a triumphant return to the top 100 in next week’s WTA rankings but was outside the main draw cut-off at the Wimbledon deadline, so would have needed to qualify without her wildcard.

The 28-year-old, who was ranked No.627 in mid-February after a horror run with an achilles injury she had surgery on last year, last played at the All-England Championships in 2019.

Spared from Wimbledon qualifying, Saville will now try to make it into next week’s WTA 500 event at Eastbourne.

Wimbledon has unveiled six of its eight women’s singles wildcards, including American megastar Serena Williams, but former world No.20 Saville has clearly scored one of the last two.

So excited and grateful for the opportunity to play another @Wimbledon! Thanks so much to the AELTC for the WC! Can’t wait!!!

— Daria Saville (@Daria_gav) June 17, 2022

“So excited and grateful for the opportunity to play another Wimbledon!” Saville posted on social media.

“Thanks so much to the AELTC (All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club) for the WC! Can’t wait!!!”

Russian-born Saville’s extraordinary comeback season earned her a public shout-out this week from her tennis-playing husband, Luke Saville.

“My wife is so inspirational. Incredible persistence coming back from multiple setbacks … just the beginning!” Saville posted on Twitter.

Saville told News Corp ahead of this year’s Australian Open that her last-resort operation came after she suffered “10 out of 10 pain” in her second-round loss to Ash Barty at her home grand slam in 2021.

She had already been dealing with the nagging injury for five years at that stage.

Daria Saville has received a singles wildcard for Wimbledon. Picture: Getty Images

Scans revealed a Haglund’s bump, which forms on the back of the heel bone, had swollen considerably and was rubbing on and causing severe pain in Saville’s right Achilles tendon.

“This was basically the last option, but I was like, ‘If I want to continue playing tennis and give myself the best shot, I have to get this done’,” Saville told News Corp.

“It was pretty frustrating for me, because from 2019 to 2021 I didn’t play much at all. I thought it wouldn’t get worse if I was conservative and built back up – but it did.”

Saville was the last Australian standing in reaching the third round at this year’s French Open, but her year went into overdrive during the American hard-court swing.

She advanced to the quarter-finals at a WTA 250 tournament in Mexico in February before qualifying and progressing to the last 16 at Indian Wells then the Miami quarter-finals, both of which are WTA 1000 events.

The Wimbledon Championships will run from June 27 to July 10.