LONDON: Two times Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has been handed a wildcard to the women’s singles draw after being ranked too low for direct entry, organizers said on Wednesday.
The Czech, winner at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014, began her comeback from a 17-month maternity break last February.
The 35-year-old, a former world number two, is currently 572nd in the WTA rankings. She lost in the first round of a WTA 500 event on grass at Queen’s Club earlier this month.
Kvitova was the only non-British player on the initial list of wildcards, which includes former British men’s number one Dan Evans.
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Former champion Kvitova handed Wimbledon wildcard
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Former champion Kvitova handed Wimbledon wildcard
- The Czech, winner at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014, began her comeback from a 17-month maternity break last February
US invests in counter-drone tech to protect FIFA World Cup venues
The US will invest $115 million in counter-drone measures to bolster security around the FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th Anniversary celebrations, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday, the latest sign of governments stepping up drone defenses.
The FIFA World Cup will be a major test of President Donald Trump’s pledge to keep the US secure, with over a million travelers expected to visit for the tournament and billions more watching matches from overseas.
The threat of drone attacks has become a growing concern since the war in Ukraine has demonstrated their lethal capabilities. And recent drone incidents have worried both European and US airports.
“We are entering a new era to defend our air superiority to protect our borders and the interior of the United States,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. Defense companies are developing a range of technologies aimed at countering drones, including tracking software, lasers, microwaves and autonomous machine guns.
The DHS did not specify which technologies it would deploy to World Cup venues. The announcement comes weeks after the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which sits under DHS, said it granted $250 million to 11 states hosting World Cup matches to buy counter-drone technologies.
Last summer, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, called on Trump, a Republican, to bolster federal support for defending against drone attacks.
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