WANBOROUGH wheelchair tennis ace Louise Hunt says she cannot wait to get out on court at the All England Club after being handed a Wimbledon wildcard.

London 2012 Paralympian Hunt will make her Grand Slam debut at SW19 when she competes in the women’s doubles event alongside Germany’s Katharina Kruger.

The wildcard caps a stellar few weeks for Hunt as she has claimed international titles in both Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as storming to career high rankings in singles (13) and doubles (11).

Hunt and partner Kruger were triumphant in the women’s doubles competition at the Czech Open earlier this month and she hopes they can continue that form on the world famous grass courts.

“I’m so excited to get the chance to play at Wimbledon for the first time and very grateful to the All England Club for this opportunity,” said Hunt, who will be one of three British players on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme contesting the women’s doubles event.

“We put in our application for a wildcard a while ago, but I’ve not wanted to buy any whites for Wimbledon in case it didn’t happen but now I can.

“When it was made official I was out for much of the day on a school visit and got home to so many congratulations messages from friends and family and social media messages, it was a real thrill.

“It’s going to be lovely to share my first Wimbledon experience with Katharina and what is even better is that we will go into Wimbledon on a winning note after our victory at the Czech Open last weekend.”

Hunt and Kruger will go straight into the semi-finals at Wimbledon, where fellow Brit Jordanne Whiley and Japan’s Yui Kamiji will be the top seeds as defending champions.

The 24-year-old admits she has not felt at her best since helping Great Britain onto the podium at the World Team Cup in Turkey last month but reckons the fact her game has not waned is down to her strong partnership with Kruger.

“I’ve not been feeling too well since we won the bronze medal at the World Team Cup at the end of last month, but it doesn’t seem to have been affecting my performances too much, which is great and I’ve been determined to battle through it,” added Hunt.

“When I play doubles with Katharina we know each other really well and she’s been great at boosting me at times when I’ve not been feeling well. So now we have Wimbledon to look forward to and I really can’t wait.”

A total of £64,000 in prize money is on offer for the wheelchair doubles competition at Wimbledon and the event will be played from Friday, July 10 to Sunday, July 12. The fortnight long championships get under way on Monday.