**Wales Celebrates First Welsh Singles Player in Wimbledon Main Draw for Two Decades**
A wave of excitement is rippling through Welsh tennis circles as Mingge (Mimi) Xu becomes the first player from Wales in 20 years to secure a coveted spot in the singles main draw at the prestigious Wimbledon Championships. This remarkable achievement marks a significant milestone not just for Xu but for Welsh tennis as a whole, injecting renewed hope and inspiration for aspiring players across the nation.
Seventeen-year-old Xu, a Swansea native, has been granted a wildcard entry into the Wimbledon main draw after an impressive climb up the women’s international rankings. Her breakthrough comes two decades after Rebecca Llewellyn, the last Welsh representative in the singles draw, competed at Wimbledon in 2005. Xu’s inclusion signifies a resurgence of Welsh participation at the highest level of the sport and sets the stage for her debut in a Grand Slam main event.
Xu joins a select group of Welsh tennis stars who have previously competed at Wimbledon. Historic figures such as Mike Davies from Swansea, Gerald Battrick from Bridgend—who reached the third round in 1971—and Sarah Loosemore from Dinas Powys, who made the second round in 2000, are among those who paved the way. Xu’s accomplishment stands on the shoulders of these trailblazers, reminding fans of the proud, if sporadic, heritage of Welsh tennis at SW19.
Despite her youth, Xu currently holds the distinction of being Wales’ highest-ranked player, sitting at number 302 on the WTA circuit. Her tennis journey began at just three years old at the Swansea Tennis and Squash Club. The support of her family—her mother Wendy, now retired, and her father Tony, an engineer—has been instrumental in nurturing her talent from an early age.
Off the court, Xu’s interests are as varied as her skill set. According to her WTA profile, she has a fondness for hard courts but also enjoys playing the piano, studying, and baking—painting a picture of a well-rounded individual balancing her pursuits alongside a burgeoning sports career.
This summer has already been rewarding for Xu, seeing her post a first-round win at the Nottingham Open against American Katie Volynets, reaching the Birmingham Open quarter-finals, and making the second round of the Ilkley Open. Notably, these successes came with four tour-level victories, including wins over two players ranked inside the world’s top 150 and a significant triumph over world number 52, Alycia Parks, in Birmingham.
Xu’s relationship with Wimbledon goes back several years. At just 14, she became the youngest player in the Open Era to receive a women’s qualifying wildcard, having secured both the U16 and U18 British National titles that same year. She remains eligible for the junior championships, and last year, reached the junior doubles final alongside Mika Stojsavljevic from the UK. Her progression through the ranks highlights a determination and talent that have turned heads in the British tennis community.
A product of the LTA National Academy in Loughborough, Xu now hones her craft at the LTA National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, frequently practicing alongside prominent British contenders Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper. Her professional training environment is seen as another factor underpinning her rapid development in the sport.
While Xu leads the Welsh contingent at Wimbledon, she is not alone. Cardiff’s James Story, aged 24, currently recognised as Wales’ highest-ranked male player with an ATP career-best of 557, recently competed in the main qualifying draw after winning the LTA Wimbledon Qualifying Play-Offs, though he fell in the opening round. Additionally, Felix Bockelmann-Evans, an 18-year-old from Penarth, is set to compete in the junior boys’ doubles following victory in the Lexus Junior National Championships—a feat that secured his place and reinforced his promising season, which also included a men’s singles title in Cardiff earlier this year.
With Xu’s main draw debut representing a new chapter for Welsh tennis, enthusiasts across the nation will be keenly watching her performance at the All England Club. The Junior Championships, featuring the next generation of talent including Bockelmann-Evans, are scheduled to commence a week after the senior events, with BBC iPlayer providing coverage of the main draw matches.
This year’s Wimbledon stands as evidence that Wales continues to cultivate tennis talent capable of competing on the international stage and promises to inspire the next crop of young players hoping to emulate their heroes.