Wimbledon rewards players who reach the quarter-finals with a membership to the ‘Last 8 Club’. This means they are guaranteed free tickets to the championship and access to the hospitality suites once they hang up their racquets.
This year, players are guaranteed to win a minimum of £375,000 if they reach the quarter-finals.
But it’s perhaps the lifetime offer of free tickets and hospitality that could enthuse some of the world’s best players.
Carlos Alcaraz, Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff are all battling for a place in the round of 16 on Saturday.
Last year, American Chris Eubanks burst onto the scene and beat Cameron Norrie and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the semi-finals.
He put up a tough fight against Daniil Medvedev but was eventually beaten in five sets.
After receiving his award, Eubanks said, “It’s hard to put into words. I can’t really describe it.
“Everything from realizing I have two Wimbledon passes for the rest of my life, to checking my phone and seeing my name on an ESPN alert, to realizing how much I didn’t like grass at the beginning of the grass season, to now seeing where I am. There are so many different ways to do it.”
Fellow American Gauff has yet to reach the quarter-finals, but she is just one match away this year.
“It would be really special here because I think the final eight club is the most established here,” Gauff said before her match against Emma Navarro. “It would be really cool to have that.”
“Wimbledon is a very special tournament. I say it all the time. It’s definitely the tournament that makes me the most nervous when it comes to Grand Slams. It’s something special, the history behind it. It’s a very exclusive tournament.
“Even though, yes, it’s my fifth time, but every time it’s new and I feel like I haven’t done it before. It’s always new every time.
“I think that’s why I always have special memories. I don’t know if it’s because it was my first big tournament. I don’t know if that’s it, or just Wimbledon itself. For some reason, I always get nervous here, especially in the first round. Now I’m over that, so it’s okay.”
