For a player who has so often brought his best to the biggest stage, the decision to put Dan Evans’ last professional match on Wimbledon’s minuscule Court 15 felt an odd one. A limp 6-2 6-4 exit in the first round of the men’s doubles was hardly what a player who once lit up Centre Court and seemed a man possessed when playing Davis Cup would have envisaged for his farewell tour.
But he was at the mercy of the powers that be, and they have rarely taken a shine to Evans, a maverick who couldn’t toe a party line if he tried. As he noted drily in his post-match press conference, “It was all a bit fitting for how the last month has gone for me.”
The 36-year-old has played sparsely in 2026 and has slid down the rankings in recent seasons, making the announcement that he would retire after one last Wimbledon feel slightly inevitable.
But he took umbrage at the fact that no grass-court tournament gave him a singles wildcard for his final season, with a Challenger event in Ilkley opting against it as well as the higher-profile ATP 500 at Queen’s, and finally Wimbledon itself. Instead he was forced to go through qualifying, and failed to make it to the main draw at any of the three.
“I have had plenty of time to sort of know it was coming,” he told press later. “In a strange way I'm happy it's over. Sort of the door closes, and then another chapter starts.”
What could have been a summer of playing in front of packed home crowds – even if only briefly – instead was a sad footnote to an often extraordinary story. A player who won two ATP Tour titles and reached a high of 21st in the world, who was part of Great Britain’s Davis Cup-winning team in 2015, retired in front of around 300 people, some of whom wore shirts reading “Thanks Dan”.
Andy Murray’s send-off on Centre Court in 2024, it was not. And it was not the same experience as when Evans – happily surrendering defending the ranking points from his title run at the ATP 500 tournament in Washington the year before – partnered Murray in doubles at the Paris Olympics, in front of some 10,000 people, in the Scot’s final tournament.
Evans’ decision to forgo those ranking points in order to play with Murray precipitated a slide down the rankings from which he never recovered. A player who played out of his skin representing his country, who took every chance he could to do so, probably deserved a slightly more gracious farewell from his national association.
He was caustic about the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), saying: “I enjoyed playing Davis Cup for my country more than I can tell you. It's the best thing ever. But the last month has been nothing short of a shambles from them. That's the bottom line. You speak to people; you talk to people.
“Nobody has given me a decent reason [for the lack of singles wildcard]. If they said, ‘Listen, you're a bit overweight right now, you're a bit out of shape’… But nobody's had the minerals to come over from the governing body, who I think I have done plenty for, and given me an explanation, you know.
“I'm not angry, but jeez, tell the truth. Listen, I would have loved to play singles, but... We all know why that is. Don't give me some nonsense answer about they're all gone [at Ilkley]. Come on, guys. That's a total piss-take for me.”
The LTA - which advises the All England Club on their wildcard selection - has since released a tribute to Evans on its website, but the 36-year-old added: “Communication is a big thing in tennis. Are they working this week? I have not seen any of them. Serious. No one spoke to me this week. No one has congratulated me on my career this week.”
Evans and partner Henry Searle – who he started coaching while out injured – had a difficult draw, in ninth seeds Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin – the latter an old nemesis of Evans from his Davis Cup days. Perhaps that was why the decision was made to put the contest on such a small court. Even his post-match press conference was shunted to a smaller interview room, despite being packed with press, rather than Wimbledon’s imposing main media theatre.
It was hard not to view it all as the latest in a series of snubs for one of Britain’s most popular players. The three small rows of seating were packed and the gangways around the court’s green netting were packed with people craning to get a glimpse. It made for a subdued exit, as if he was being quietly shuffled out.
Not that Evans is the type to go quietly. “It was quite cool that it was Court 15,” he said, half-joking. “I had never been out there. It was pretty cool that, you know, the ground passes got on, and I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Having said his piece about the governing body, Evans returned to another subject he has never shied away from: the state of British tennis, and the overwhelmingly middle-class nature of it and the types of players who come up through the ranks.
The Birmingham native said: “I don't think we should play tennis to get validation off certain people or whatever. I think it's important that that reaches the kids or people who are trying to become players. You know, we've got to do certain things to inspire them. I think sometimes that gets lost on as players being selfish, of course, because you're in the moment. But it's important to give a bit back as well.”
While it was not the farewell he was after, there were tears in his eyes as he took in the moment on Wednesday. And the 300-strong crowd on Court 15, and the onlookers spilling out into the walkways, would say he certainly gave more than his fair share back.
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