Wildcard places are extra spots given to players who did not qualify automatically for a tennis tournament.

They have been awarded at Wimbledon since 1977 and are at the discretion of the committee of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Places are often awarded to players based on their previous performances at Wimbledon, or to increase British participation in the competition.

Since 2003, some wildcard spots for singles events have been decided by ‘play-off’ tournaments.

Two years prior to that, Goran Ivanisevic famously won the men’s singles title as a wildcard entry while Serena and Venus Williams twice won the women’s doubles from the same starting point.

The most recent wildcard winners at Wimbledon were Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen in the men’s doubles in 2012.

Last year, Andy and Jamie Murray were handed wildcard entries into the men’s doubles, but were knocked out in the first round.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.