British tennis faced a disheartening day at Wimbledon, marking its worst performance of the century as all ten local players who completed their matches were defeated. The situation could have been even more dire had Jack Pinnington Jones not been unable to finish his match against Brandon Nakashima due to fading light, trailing two sets to none with a score of 4-3.
Following promising performances from Emma Raducanu at Queen’s and Jack Draper in Eastbourne, expectations for a strong British presence at Wimbledon were high. However, with Draper joining Raducanu in withdrawing due to injury on Monday, hopes quickly diminished as player after player succumbed to defeat.
Most competitors faced higher-ranked opponents, but the losses of Harriet Dart and Cameron Norrie stood out. Dart, who had two breaks in the final set, ultimately lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, while Norrie fell in a final-set tiebreak to American college champion Michael Zheng.
Dart, now positioned at 152 in the rankings, was initially slated to play on court 17 until she received a last-minute call to replace Raducanu on No 1 Court. While every British player dreams of competing on such a prominent stage at Wimbledon, Dart faced an uphill battle after quickly finding herself down 4-0 in the first set.
Known for her resilience, Dart rallied impressively, moving adeptly despite a persistent foot issue and delivering stunning winners. After leveling the match, she broke her opponent’s serve twice to lead 1-0 and 2-1 in the third set, and she fought back from a 4-2 deficit to equalize at 4-4. Ostapenko, visibly affected by the crowd’s enthusiasm, even received sarcastic boos after a double-fault.
“I think it was very challenging with the circumstances. We were both told, I think, past 10pm last night [about] the schedule change. Not really heard that before. I guess it’s the same for both of us. “The reality is I was up a break twice, but it’s a long way from the finish line. When you play players of the stature of Jelena, you know there is one or two points in it. And I think in the end that’s what it kind of came down to. I also think the second game of the third, she hit a line and two dead net cords. Today it felt like luck wasn’t really in my favour. “It’s really nice to play in front of a home crowd, and especially a rowdy crowd because I always think British people are generally quite subdued when they watch and are quite polite. So it was actually really nice to play in an atmosphere which felt like it was heavily supportive of me. So that was an amazing thing. I think for me, this is the first time I have really felt that here. I really felt their support on my side. It was great to have that energy and to kind of experience that.”
“If I could have had a few more matches leading in, I think I can win this match,”
Norrie, who has been a consistent presence in British tennis, was hoping for another strong run following his semi-final finish at Wimbledon in 2022 and his quarter-final appearance the previous year. As the No 29 seed, he entered the tournament with great expectations, yet he struggled against Zheng, ranked No 143, losing 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (4).
“There were so many small moments in the match that he did really well to go on his side. So, yeah, credit to him.” Norrie stated. “There were so many small moments in the match that he did really well to go on his side. So, yeah, credit to him.”
Zheng, a promising talent, also attended university in the U.S. and has won the NCAA championship twice. He displayed impressive skills, serving 21 aces and allowing Norrie only one break throughout the match. Overall, Zheng struck 74 winners, and in the decisive tiebreak, he maintained his composure while Norrie faltered.
Other British players also faced early exits, including Hannah Klugman, who lost 6-1, 6-4 to 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova. Mika Stojsavljevic was defeated 6-2, 6-1 by Belinda Bencic, and Alicia Dudeney, despite a commendable effort, fell 6-3, 6-3 to Alycia Parks.
Mimi Xu succumbed to Daria Kasatkina with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, while Max Basing, who qualified for his first grand slam main draw, was overwhelmed 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 by Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki. Felix Gill lost 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 to Spain’s rising star, Rafael Jódar, and Fran Jones was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by France’s Diane Parry.
Oliver Tarvet made headlines last year for qualifying for the main draw despite a ranking of 733. This year, with an improved ranking of 324, he received a wildcard to the event and fought bravely against the No 25 seed, Arthur Rinderknech, but ultimately fell 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-5.
