Wimbledon wild cards for Liam Broady, Alex Ward, James Ward, Tara Moore, Laura Robson and Katie Swan

Wimbledon have handed wild cards to six British players ahead of the tournament which starts later this month.

Liam Broady, Alex Ward and James Ward have been given a place in the men's singles, while Tara Moore, Laura Robson and Katie Swan will feature in the main draw of the women's singles.

British No 5 James Ward reached the third round at Wimbledon for the first time last year, where he was knocked out by Vasek Pospisial.

Broady, who is sixth in the British rankings, got as far as the second round last year - when like James Ward he was also given a wild card - while Alex Ward, 26, has never previously featured in the main draw of a Grand Slam but he has been presented with a chance after climbing to a career-high 242nd in the world.

British No 4 Moore has been in good form recently and reached the quarter-finals of last week's Nottingham Open, although she has failed to make it past the first round on her previous two visits to Wimbledon.

Robson, 22, has tumbled to 308th in the WTA world rankings after being hampered by a wrist injury over the last two years but she will be hoping to put some inconsistent results behind her at the All England Club, where she reached the fourth round in 2013.

Swan, 17, is only ranked 10th in Britain but has been handed the chance to play at Wimbledon for the first time after becoming the youngest British player in Fed Cup history earlier this year at the age of 16 years and 316 days.  

The three British men will be joined by Germany's Dustin Brown, who knocked out Rafa Nadal in the second round last year, and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, while Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova and Russian Marina Melnikova have also received wild cards for the women's singles.

Three more wild cards for both the men's and women's singles will be announced by Wimbledon officials later in the week.

Players in both draws will receive £30,000 in prize money for competing in the first round, up £1,000 from last year.

The third Grand Slam tournament of the season starts on June 27 and runs until July 10.