From Shrewsbury to Wimbledon for tennis stars competing in this year’s Championships
Pictured: Marketa Vondrousova was crowned Wimbledon champion just eight months after winning the W100 Shrewsbury tournament at The Shrewsbury Club along with runner-up Eva Lys. Both players are in the frist round draw at Wimbledon that starts Monday Picture: Richard Dawson Photography.
A host of players who have graced our courts in recent years will be chasing Wimbledon glory over the next two weeks. Headed by Marketa Vondrousova, the current Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion, the long list includes many leading British stars who have entertained Shropshire crowds. Czech ace Vondrousova lifted the Wimbledon title last summer just after eight months after winning both the singles and doubles events at the W100 Shrewsbury tournament.
Seeded six in this year’s Championships, Vondrousova will begin the defence of her title at SW19 against Spanish player Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. Meanwhile the player she beat here in the Final, Eva Lys from Germany, takes on Cara Burel in the first round.
Dave Courteen, The Shrewsbury Club’s managing director, said: “It’s always interesting to look through the main draws for Wimbledon at this time of year and pick out just how many players competing have entered our tournaments in the past.
“Watching Marketa Vondrousova win Wimbledon last summer so soon after playing in Shrewsbury was fantastic.
“We will keeping a close eye on her progress again, along with many others over the next few weeks that we have so enjoyed welcoming to The Shrewsbury Club.
“Looking at the players competing in the singles and also doubles at Wimbledon, both ladies and men’s, it is always a timely reminder of the quality of the tournaments we are so proud to host as it brings world-class tennis to Shropshire.
“We are really looking forward to hosting the Lexus W100 Shrewsbury once again in October, with the line-up likely to include lots of players currently preparing for Wimbledon.”
Swiss star Viktorija Golubic, who succeeded Vondrousova as Shrewsbury champion last October, will face Germany’s Jule Niemeier in the first round of the ladies’ singles. Golubic is currently ranked 69 in the world.
Of the British players to have played here at The Shrewsbury Club, current British number one Katie Boulter, who last played in Shropshire in 2022, has been handed a first round meeting with German Tatjana Maria, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2021 who also played in the W100 Shrewsbury two years ago.
Harriet Dart, Lily Miyazaki, Heather Watson, Francesca Jones and Sonay Kartal, who came through three qualifying rounds to set up a first round clash with 29th seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania, are the other Brits to have played in Shrewsbury featuring in the main draw of this year’s ladies’ singles. Marni Banks, who had a dramatic run to the Final at Shrewsbury last year before losing to Golubic in straight sets, and 15 year old Hannah Klugman, who took Coco Gauff's record for the yourngest player to reach a W100 quarter final when she played Shrewsbury in 2023, both suffered the heartbreak of losing in the final round of qualifying and just miss out on a guaranteed prize purse of £60,000 for making the first round draw.
Meanwhile in the Doubles, Maia Lumsden, who won Shrewsbury in 2018 will be hoping to repeat her Doubles success at Wimbledon where she reached the quarter finals with Naiktha Bains last year, with this year's partner, Harriet Dart. The pair had an encouraging build up to Wimbledon reaching the semi-final at Eastbourne.
On the men’s side, new British number one Jack Draper, winner of a $25,000 tournament at The Shrewsbury Club when he was aged 17 in 2019, has been drawn in round one against Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer. Draper is seeded 28 in this year’s Championships.
The others Brits to have played in Shrewsbury featuring in the men’s singles main draw include Dan Evans, Liam Broady, Paul Jubb, Billy Harris, Arthur Fery and Charles Broom, who will face Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka, the former world number three, after receiving a wild card.
We are looking forward to hosting the Lexus W100 Shrewsbury between October 13-20.
The ITF World Tennis Tour tournament is the biggest event in women's tennis to be staged in the UK, outside of the grass court season, this year, with tickets on sale.