First Welsh player in the Wimbledon singles main draw for 20 years

Wales will have its first Welsh player in the Wimbledon Championships singles main draw for 20 years.

Swansea-born teenager Mingge (Mimi) Xu has been awarded a wildcard into the Wimbledon main draw as she continues to climb the women’s rankings internationally.

Rebecca Llewellyn, former world No.280 featured in the singles and doubles at the Championships in 2005.

This year, Wales has three confirmed players in the Championships, competing in the men’s, women’s and boys events.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the world’s most famous tennis event.

Mimi Xu

The 17-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough few weeks, notching up impressive
wins at the Lexus Birmingham, Ilkley, and Nottingham Open events.

Mimi claimed four WTA-level victories across the three events, including wins over two top 150 players and a show-court victory against world No.52 and top seed Alycia Parks (USA) in Birmingham.

Following these performances, Mimi has risen to 318 in the world rankings.

Xu played on the grass at Eastbourne this week ahead of Wimbledon starting on Monday.

The player already has a notable history with Wimbledon and remains the youngest player in the Open Era to receive a wildcard into the Women’s qualifying event.

At just 14, she earned this opportunity by capturing both the U16 and U18 British National titles.

Xu could also feature as one of the main contenders for the junior title if she opts to play that event.

She finished runner-up in the junior Wimbledon girls doubles last year alongside fellow British prospect Mika Stojsavljevic.

Xu peaked at No. 8 in the junior world rankings last year but has focused on the women’s circuit this season.

Born and raised in Swansea, Mimi started playing at Swansea Tennis and Squash
Club and Swansea Tennis Centre, before attending the LTA National Academy in
Loughborough.

She now trains at the LTA National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, alongside players such as Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper.

This will be a superb experience, competing in a Grand Slam main draw for the first
time in 2025.

James Story

Cardiff’s James Story, 24, is Wales’ top-ranked male player, with a career-high ATP
ranking of No. 557.

James earned his place in Wimbledon qualifying by winning through the LTA
Wimbledon Qualifying Play-Offs.

He has worked hard for this opportunity, showing consistent form throughout the season since graduating from US college in 2024.

As a junior, James won silver at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games and reached
the doubles semi-finals at Junior Wimbledon in 2018.

He played collegiate tennis at the University of South Carolina before turning professional last summer and has since been steadily climbing the ATP rankings.

Having earnt this place as one of the top British players, in Wimbledon qualifying James faced a tough opening-round draw against Chile’s Tomas Barrios Vera, world No. 107 and the 5th seed in qualifying.

He put in a strong performance against the former ATP 250 Chile Open winner but ultimately lost the match.

This was James’ first time aiming to qualifying for a Grand Slam tournament and caps off a great start to his professional career.

Felix Bockelmann-Evans

Felix Bockelmann-Evans will compete in the junior boys’ doubles after winning the Lexus Junior National Championships with his partner Ferran Redza.

The pair claimed the British national title in dramatic fashion, defeating the top 3 seeded teams enroute to lifting the prestigious trophy.

The 18-year-old from Penarth, is part of the Tennis Wales National Training Programme, delivered in partnership with Cardiff Met University, and has trained in Wales throughout his young tennis career.

This will be Bockelmann-Evans’ debut appearance during the Wimbledon
Championships, marking a significant step up for the young player who is having a great year after claiming his first men’s title at a Progress Tour event held at Cardiff Met in January.

The Junior Championships at Wimbledon begin a week later than the men’s and
women’s events with main draw matches being shown via the BBC iPlayer.