There are 7 British women in the Ladies Championship Singles, and 4 are in action on Day 1, Emma Raducanu, Heather Watson, Lily Miyazaki and Sonay Kartal, who are competing alongside Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, and Fran Jones in the main draw.
“I have good memories on Court 18. It was one of the first times I played at Wimbledon and when I made the fourth round two years ago, I won my second round match on that court. What a place Wimbledon is. I’m so grateful to be back for another year. Each year that goes by, I become more and more appreciative of what an incredible event this is. I’m so grateful I’m still playing.” – Heather Watson
“I feel a lot more comfortable this year,” said Raducanu, who is appearing at just her 3rd Wimbledon. “There’s a lot less going on. There’s a lot less stress or chaos.“I’m more just coming here, doing my practice, playing the match. Like, there’s not much else to it whereas in 2022 I was in a big rush.”
32-year old Watson kicks off first when she takes on her doubles partner, Greet Minnen from Belgium. Watson posted her best result at Wimbledon in 2022 when she reached the 4th-round. Minnen’s best result across all the Grand Slams was reached at the US Open where she reached the 3rd-round in 2023 and 2021.
Heather Watson and Greet Minnen have never met before in a match.
Watson’s opponent, Minnen, is playing at Wimbledon for a 4th time and reached the 2nd-round in 2023, losing to Zheng Qinwen. Minnen equalled her best career grass court result at ‘s-Hertogenbosch last month with a quarter-final appearance.
On the other hand, Raducanu is back with a smile on her face on the back of some encouraging form and ready to play a match following surgeries on her wrists and ankle that kept her away from Wimbledon last year. “It was really hard last year because you would walk through the player tunnel, see your peers going to practice, going to play their match. Being on the other side just really stung. It wasn’t nice and I didn’t really watch any of the tennis either. For me to be on this side of it this year is just super special.”
Katie Boulter, who is seeded at Wimbledon for the first time, plays Tatjana Maria from Germany in her opener. On the other hand, Harriet Dart, who is appearing at Wimbledon for the 6th time, takes on Zhuoxuan Bai from China.
Yuriko ‘Lily’ Miyazaki plays Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch on Monday in her opening match on Court 16, while Sonay Kartal looks to reach the 2nd-round for the first time against Sorana Cirstea from Romania out on Court 15 late on Monday afternoon.
Fran Jones enters as a wild-card to take on Petra Martic from Croatia on Tuesday. Jones reached a career-high ranking of 149 in 2022, and she recently reached the quarter-finals at Nottingham.
