Thursday, June 26, 2025

WI.Q - Blades of Grass '25



A look back at the Wimbledon qualifying rounds...




*TOP Q-PLAYERS (#-first slam MD)*



1. Carson Branstine, CAN (24, #197) # ...much-traveled (as far as college tennis programs), multi-national (the California-born Canadian played for the U.S. until a few seasons ago) and oft-injured, Branstine has finally found a clean path. She's reached six ITF finals (winning four) since the start of 2024, reached her biggest final at a 125 in February and this grass season at Rosmalen she qualified to make her tour MD debut and knocked off Top 20 and defending champ Liudmila Samsonova in the 1st Round. Now she'll play in her maiden MD at a major, as well.

Branstine opened qualifying with a win over top seeded RG star Lois Boisson, then followed that with an upset of Bianca Andreescu, her longtime friend and sometimes doubles partner. In the final Q-round, Branstine had to rally from a set down vs. Cypriot Raluca Serban to avoid a disappointing end to what had already been the story of the qualifying tournament.

Branstine is 6-2 on the grass this season.


===============================================
2. Anastasia Zakharova, RUS (23, #94) ...Zakharova played more tennis to reach this year's Wimbledon MD than any other qualifier, going three sets to get wins over Lizette Cabrera, Ana Bogdan (the Romanian served for the match) and Tereza Valentova (overcoming a 5-1 3rd set deficit vs. the young Czech).


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3. Petra Martic, CRO (34, #139) ...the Croatian veteran went three sets in qualifying vs. Maddison Inglis (saving three MP) and Panna Udvardy, and will make her 13th MD appearance at the All-England Club. It'll be Martic's eighth straight at the major where she's won more MD matches (17) than at any other slam since her debut in London in 2010.


===============================================
4. Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE (20, #150) ...Fruhvirtova's 2025 turnaround continues. The first of the young Crush of Czechs to win a WTA title ('22 Chennai), the former Top 50 player was under .500 in both the 2023 and '24 seasons and earlier this year was ranked outside the Top 200.

She's posted some good rebound results this season, including reaching two 125 finals (one on the grass at Birmingham) and qualifying and reaching the 3rd Round in Miami. Her three Wimbledon qualifying wins saw her lost no sets and knock off two seeds (#2 Parrizas Diaz, #21 Shibahara), improving her overall record to 18-9 since March.

Fruhvirtova's 1st Round appearance at SW19 will be her first in a major since the 2024 AO.


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5. Iva Jovic, USA (17, #89) ...after making her debut at the last three majors via the wild card route, since she's not currently British, Jovic had to win her way into the MD this time. No problem. The recent Ilkley 125 champ, Jovic was busy winning the Wimbledon girls' doubles title a year ago, but since then has made her Top 100 debut and posted 1st Round wins at the US, AO and RG.


===============================================

*OTHER WI QUALIFIERS*
Veronika Erjavec, SLO (25/#171)
Talia Gibson, AUS (21/#129)
Priscilla Hon, AUS (27/#137)
Elsa Jacquemot, FRA (22/#115)
Kaja Juvan, SLO (24/#242)
Diane Parry, FRA (22/#113)
Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (31/#108)
Ella Seidel, GER (20/#110)
Nina Stojanovic, SRB (28/#172)
Lanlana Tararudee, THA(20/#188) #
Taylor Townsend, USA (29/#98)
--
# - first slam MD

*WI WILD CARDS*
Jodie Burrage, GBR (26)
Harriet Dart, GBR (28)
Francesca Jones, GBR (24)
Hannah Klugman, GBR (16) #
Petra Kvitova, CZE (35)
Mika Stojsavljevic, GBR (16) #
Heather Watson, GBR (33)
Mimi Xu, GBR (17) #
--
# - slam MD debut

*WI - MD PROTECTED RANKING*
Sorana Cirstea, ROU (35)
Zhu Lin, CHN (31)
Anastasija Sevastova, LAT (35)
Caty McNally, USA (23)
Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (35)








WI Q1 - Carson Branstine def. #1 Lois Boisson 6-2/6-7(1)/6-4
...many wondered why RG star Boisson didn't receive a MD wild card, and then took the Pastry's opening qualifying round loss as some sort of proof of otherworldy skills of divination on the All-England Club's part. Come on, now. She didn't get a wild card because she's not a set-to-retire former SW19 champion and/or, you know, British.

Fact is, considering this was Boisson's first career match on grass as a pro -- ever -- this result actually was pretty good. Branstine opened the grass court season by getting a Top 20 win over defending Rosmalen champ Liudmila Samsonova a few weeks ago, remember, so that such a grass neophyte pushed this thing to a fairly close 3rd set says a lot about Boisson's competitiveness.




Naturally, a subset of social media vultures then reverted to their natural state, not wasting a moment before picking at the still-warm Boisson carcass at the first sign of any weakness, deciding that the Pastry's one-match-short-of-the-final Paris run (in her major debut) was simply a fairy tale and that actually she "wasn't a good player." Because of course they did.

Meanwhile, after the opening match, *Branstine* became the story of the qualifying tourament.

WI Q2 - Carson Branstine def. Bianca Andreescu 7-6(3)/4-6/6-1
...Carson throws up another victory of note, taking out countrywoman, friend and former doubles partner Andreescu.



The two teamed to win the AO & RG girls doubles' titles in 2017, as well as reaching a tour-level final that same season in Quebec City. They played doubles together a few weeks ago at Rosmalen.

This will mark the first time Andreescu will miss out on the Wimbledon MD since 2019, when a shoulder injury incurred in Miami (between her career-best title runs in Indian Wells and the U.S. Open) kept her out of action for all but one match over a a five-month stretch from March through August.

WI Q3 - Carson Branstine def. Raluca Serban 4-6/7-6(6)/6-2
...Branstine came within two points -- at 6-6 in the 2nd set TB -- of seeing her qualifying journey end a round short of her major debut. But the Tennis Gods decided to put away their toys of cruelty for (at least) this one day.


===============================================
WI Q1 - Victoria Mboko def. Nao Hibino 2-6/7-6(7)/6-2
...like Boisson, Mboko had been considered a possibility for a WC berth by the AELTC. The Canadian avoided the Pastry's Q1 fate, rallying from a set and a break (2-1) down vs. Hibino (getting things back on serve by converting BP #7 in game 4), then knotting the match on SP #7 (spread over three games), taking a 2nd set TB before winning in three.

WI Q3 - #30 Priscilla Hon def. Victoria Mboko 4-6/7-6(4)/6-1
...Mboko had a MD spot on her racket, leading love/40 at 6-5 in the 2nd on Hon's serve, holding five MP in all before the 27-year old Aussie won to make her own Wimbledon MD debut. Hon's last major MD appearance was at the 2020 AO.



Hope still springs (moderately) eternal for the 18-year old Canadian, though, as a LL berth is still possible.


===============================================
WI Q2 - #4 Anastasia Zakharova def. Ana Bogdan 6-7(1)/7-6(1)/6-3
WI Q3 - #4 Anastasia Zakharova def. #18 Tereza Valentova 7-6(1)/2-7/7-6(10-7)
...Zakharova's three three-set wins included these two doozies.

Bogdan had overcame a 5-3 1st deficit to win via a TB, and served for the match at 5-3 in the 2nd before the Hordette dominated the second TB and won 6-3 in the 3rd. In the final Q-round, 18-year old Valentova seemed on her way to qualifying at a second straight slam, as the Czech led 5-1 in the 3rd, serving at 5-2 and 5-4, before Zakharova rallied again and won a 10-7 MTB.


===============================================
WI Q3 - (PR) Kaja Juvan def. #16 Robin Montgomery 6-3/7-6(7)
...Juvan returned to tennis earlier this season after a year-long absence (following a previous shorter break in '23), and the former Top 60 player (now #242) has started to find her groove.

So far in '25, the Slovenian has reached $75K QF & SF on hard court, and played in $35K (L) and $75K (W) finals on clay before this successful run on the grass.

After falling in the final round of RG qualifying last month (w/ a loss to Mboko), Wimbledon will be Juvan's first slam MD appearance since AO24. She reached consecutive SW19 3rd Rounds in 2021-22.


===============================================
WI Q1 - (PR) Alize Cornet def. Katy Dunne 6-4/6-3
WI Q2 - (PR) Alize Cornet def. #29 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 3-6/6-3/6-3
WI Q3 - #15 Elsa Jacquemot def. (PR) Alize Cornet 7-5/6-1
...Cornet plays her first matches since Strasbourg, and her first in a slam event since her "farewell" at RG last year. The last time she won a qualifying round match in a major? The 2007 U.S. Open.

Cornet's final round loss to fellow Pastry Jacquemot is her first slam qualifying defeat since her 2007 Wimbledon debut, when she then made the MD as lucky loser and posted a 1st Round win over Maria Kirilenko.

If Cornet never makes it back to a Wimbledon MD, she'll end her SW19 career at 15-16, the only major in which she doesn't have a MD winning record. Still, the tournament played host to *two* of Cornet's four career #1 wins, over Serena Williams (2014) and Iga Swiatek (2022).
===============================================



WI Q1 - Emerson Jones def. #8 Antonia Ruzic 6-1/0-6/6-0
WI Q1 - (WC) Renata Jamrichova def. Tamara Korpatsch 1-6/7-5/7-5
WI Q2 - Joanna Garland def. (WC) Renata Jamrichova 7-5/6-1
WI Q3 - #17 Diane Parry def. Emerson Jones 6-2/6-2
...a year ago, Jamrichova defeated Jones in the junior Wimbledon final. The Aussie outlasted the Slovak this time around, but ultimately neither played her way into her first Wimbledon MD.
===============================================
WI Q1 - Petra Martic def. Maddison Inglis 6-2/3-6/7-6(12-10)
...Martic's eventually successful Q-run opened with her winning a back-and-forth battle with the Aussie, who led 4-2 in the 3rd and held a pair of MP at 5-4. In the deciding MTB, Martic took a 5-2 lead, but saw Inglis have a third MP chance at 9-8 before the Croatian finally converted on her own second MP.
===============================================
WI Q2 - #13 Ella Seidel def. Jule Niemeier 6-2/6-0
...three years ago, Niemeier reached the QF (def. #2 Kontaveit along the way) in her Wimbledon debut. She lost to countrywoman Tatjana Maria in three sets, after claiming the 1st and holding early leads in the 2nd and 3rd sets (4-2 in the decider). Since then, Niemeier has exited SW19 in the 2nd Round in 2023-24 and will now miss the MD entirely this time around.

A year and a half after qualifying to make her slam MD at AO24, Seidel went on to reach her second with another successful Q-run (w/ a three-set win over Jana Fett).
===============================================
WI Q3 - #24 Talia Gibson def. #10 Solana Sierra 6-4/3-6/7-5
...Gibson joined Hon as a second Aussie qualifier, staging a comeback from 5-3 down in the 3rd, saving a MP on serve and then denying the Argentine when she served for the win a game later.


===============================================



*RECENT WIMBLEDON "Q-PLAYER OF THE WEEK" WINNERS*
2017 Petra Martic, CRO
2018 Mona Barthel, GER
2019 Coco Gauff, USA
2021 Ana Konjuh, CRO
2022 Maja Chwalinska, POL
2023 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP
2024 Katie Volynets, USA
2025 Carson Branstine, CAN
[2025 slams]
AO: Maja Chwalinska, POL
RG: Nao Hibino, JPN
WI: Carson Branstine, CAN







=2025 SLAM QUALIFIERS BY NATION (48)=
5...AUS (2/1/2) - Gibson,Hon
4...ARG (1/3/0)
4...CZE (1/2/1) - L.Fruhvirtova
4...FRA (1/1/2) - Jacquemot,Parry
4...SLO (2/0/2) - Erjavec,Juvan
3...RUS (1/1/1) - Zakharova
2...CAN (0/1/1) - Branstine
2...CRO (1/0/1) - Martic
2...GER (0/1/1) - Seidel
2...JPN (1/1/0)
2...ROU (2/0/0)
2...SRB (0/1/1) - Stojanovic
2...UKR (1/1/0)
2...USA (0/0/2) - Jovic,Townsend
1...BLR (0/0/1) - Sasnovich
1...CHN (1/0/0)
1...ESP (0/1/0)
1...ITA (0/1/0)
1...POL (1/0/0)
1...SUI (1/0/0)
1...THA (0/0/1) - Tararudee
1...TPE (0/1/0)

=MULTI-SLAM QUALIFIERS IN 2025=
2 - Sara Beljek, CZE (AO/RG)
2 - Veronika Erjavec, SLO (AO/WI)
2 - Nao Hibino, JPN (AO/RG)
2 - Julia Riera, ARG (AO/RG)
2 - Nina Stojanovic, SRB (RG/WI)

*YOUNGEST 2025 SLAM...*
=WC=
AO - Emerson Jones, AUS (16)
WI - Hannah Klugman, GBR (16)
WI - Mika Stojsavljevic, GBR (16)
WI - Mimi Xu, GBR (17)
AO - Iva Jovic, USA (17)
RG - Iva Jovic, USA (17)
AO - Maya Joint, AUS (18)
RG - Tiantsoa (Sarah) Rakotomanga Rajaonah, FRA (19)

=Q=
WI - Iva Jovic, USA (17)
AO - Sara Bejlek, CZE (18)
RG - Victoria Mboko, CAN (18)
RG - Tereza Valentova, CZE (18)
RG - Sara Bejlek, CZE (19)

=LL=
AO - Eva Lys, GER (23)
RG - Yuliia Starodubtseva, UKR (25)
WI = TBD

=PR=
AO - Caty McNally, USA (23)
WI - Caty McNally, USA (23)
RG - Jodie Burrage, GBR (25)

=OLDEST 2025 SLAM...=
=WC=
WI - Petra Kvitova, CZE (35)
AO - Zhang Shuai, CHN (35)
WI - Heather Watson, GBR (33)
AO - Alja Tomljanovic, AUS (31)
AO - Chloe Paquet, FRA (30)
AO - Dasha Saville, AUS (30)
RG - Chloe Paquet, FRA (30)

=Q=
WI - Petra Martic, CRO (34)
AO - Viktorija Golubic, SUI (32)
RG - Dasha Saville, AUS (31)
WI - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (31)
AO - Nao Hibino, JPN (30)
RG - Tamara Korpatsch, GER (30)
RG - Nao Hibino, JPN (30)

=LL=
AO - Petra Martic, CRO (33)
RG = Taylor Townsend, USA (29)
AO - Harriet Dart, GBR (28)
WI = TBD

=PR=
RG - Petra Kvitova, CZE (35)
WI - Sorana Cirstea, ROU (35)
WI - Anastasija Sevastova, LAT (35)
WI - Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (35)
RG - Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (35)
WI - Zhu Lin, CHN (31)
AO - Danka Kovinic, MNE (30)
AO - Zheng Saisai, CHN (30)

=MAKING SLAM MD DEBUTS (*-won in 1r)=
=AUTOMATIC ENTRY MD=
AO - Suzan Lamens, NED*
RG - Emiliana Arango, COL*
RG - Alex Eala, PHI
WI = TBD

=WC=
AO - Emerson Jones, AUS
RG - Lois Boisson, FRA*
RG - Tiantsoa (Sarah) Rakotomanga Rajaonah, FRA
WI - Hannah Klugman, GBR
WI - Mika Stojsavljevic, GBR
WI - Mimi Xu, GBR

=Q=
AO - Veronika Erjavec, SLO
AO - Wei Sijia, CHN
RG - Joanna Garland, TPE*
RG - Victoria Mboko, CAN*
RG - Leyre Romero Gormaz, ESP*
RG - Anastasiia Sobolieva, UKR
RG - Tereza Valentova, CZE*
WI - Carson Branstine, CAN
WI - Lanlana Tararudee, THA

=LOW-RANKED 2025 SLAM QUALIFIERS=
#242 - Kaja Juvan, SLO (WI)
#230 - Anastasiia Sobolieva, UKR (RG)
#227 - Carole Monnet, FRA (RG)
#204 - Julia Riera, ARG (RG)
#200 - Nao Hibino, JPN (RG)
#197 - Carson Branstine, CAN (WI)
#195 - Destanee Aiava, AUS (AO)
#193 - Sara Bejlek, CZE (RG)
#188 - Lanlana Tararudee, THA (WI)
#180 - Tamara Zidansek, SLO (AO)

=LL=
#132 - Petra Martic, CRO (AO)
#129 - Eva Lys, GER (AO)
#113 - Harriet Dart, GBR (AO)
#86 - Yuliia Starodubtseva, UKR (RG)
WI = TBD

*BEST SLAM RESULTS BY QUALIFIERS=
=W=
2021 US Open - Emma Raducanu
=SF=
1978 Australian - Christine Dorey Matison
1999 Wimbledon - Alexandra Stevenson
2020 Roland Garros - Nadia Podoroska
2024 Australian - Dayana Yastremska
=QF (since 1999)=
1999 Roland Garros - Barbara Schwartz
1999 Wimbledon - Jelena Dokic
2000 Roland Garros - Marta Marrero
2001 Roland Garros - Petra Mandula
2006 Wimbledon - Severine Bremond
2008 Roland Garros - Carla Suarez Navarro
2010 Wimbledon - Kaia Kanepi
2012 Roland Garros - Yaroslava Shvedova
2016 Australian - Zhang Shuai
2017 US Open - Kaia Kanepi
2020 Roland Garros - Martina Trevisan
2024 Wimbledon - Lulu Sun





All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 11:52 PM 

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