Britain's teenage trio ready to show a glimpse of the future at Wimbledon

South Wales Argus

a day ago

Sixteen-year-olds Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic and 17-year-old Mimi Xu will all make their senior Wimbledon debuts on Monday.
There is a great deal of excitement within British tennis about the youngsters, with Stojsavljevic winning the 2024 US Open junior title and Klugman reaching the French Open girls' final this year, while Xu has already beaten two top-100 players on grass this summer.
She's done it!!!!!! What a start to the grass season 💚
In her first ever match against a top 100 player, Mimi Xu has beaten top seed & world No.52 Alycia Parks in Birmingham 🤯 pic.twitter.com/p6nlX5dNrs
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 2, 2025
Xu will immediately be thrust into the spotlight having drawn British number one Emma Raducanu in a clash that will be played in prime-time on Court One, while Klugman will face the player Raducanu beat in the US Open final in 2021, Leylah Fernandez, and Stojsavljevic takes on 31st seed Ashlyn Krueger.
They are sure to compare notes afterwards, with Xu saying: 'We've grown up together. I've known them all since we were seven, eight.
'I think we've got a really good friendship, good environment around us, because we all train together now. So we can push each other every day. And seeing them do so well makes you want to do well as well.'
Like Raducanu at the same age, academic studies remain important to all of them, with Xu, who comes from Swansea, sitting three biology A level exams alongside her matches over the last few weeks.
She completed her maths A level last summer, two years early, and will take economics next summer.
Stojsavljevic, meanwhile, chose not to play French Open juniors while she took her GCSEs, with Klugman opting to defer her exams until the autumn.
'It was very difficult,' said Londoner Stojsavljevic. 'I don't really think I slept for a month and a half, but I'm so glad it's over and I can just focus on playing. Once I think I had an exam in the morning and played a match in the afternoon.'
The trio are enjoying rubbing shoulders with the big stars, although Stojsavljevic has so far been too shy to speak to her big idol Novak Djokovic.
'He's just got too much aura,' she said with a smile.
Hannah Klugman is the third youngest British player at Wimbledon in the open era (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Klugman arrives in the senior game with the most hype having stood out from a very young age, winning the prestigious under-18 Orange Bowl championships in Florida aged only 14.
She grew up in Wimbledon and lives only a five-minute walk from the All England Club.
'It's a dream for me,' she said. 'I live down the road so it's something I've wanted to do my whole life. But I don't think anything changes after this experience, it's just a little stepping stone.'
Klugman will still play in the junior event and one of her best friends from Wimbledon High School is a ball girl this year.
'I said, 'I don't want you on my court', she'd put me off for sure,' said the teenager, who is the third youngest British player to appear in the women's singles in the open era after Laura Robson and Annabel Croft.
LTA national women's coach Katie O'Brien has watched the three players come through the ranks and, asked what qualities they share, she said: 'Unbelievable work ethic, and I think they're happy to be a bit different.
'I think you need a lot of resilience. Tennis is such a tough sport, there's so many knockbacks. You've got to be incredibly determined and open to learning.'
There will be no expectations this year beyond giving it their best shot, but O'Brien believes all three are capable of winning matches at this level.
'For sure it will be the biggest stage they've performed on but, even though they're young, I think they've already performed under pressure, they've already been in the spotlight,' said the former British number one.
'I don't think they're going to be intimidated.'