Welsh tennis star makes Junior Wimbledon debut at 13 years old
• 2 MINUTE READ
Tennis Wales is proud to support Mimi Xu, the Junior Wimbledon wildcard for 2021. At just 13 years old, Mimi is the youngest Welsh player to ever compete at the prestigious tournament.
After winning the U16 Doubles event at the British Junior National Championships earlier in 2021, Mimi gained international recognition – and the Wildcard selection - by beating the junior world number 48 and 14at one of the International Tennis Federation-run warm up events in Roehampton.
At Junior Wimbledon, wildcard Mimi was eventually knocked out of the Singles event in three close sets by 18 year-old Polina Kudermetova, the World #6. She also made it through to the 2nd round of the Doubles event with 18-year-old British player Kylie Bilchev: after winning their first match, the pair were beaten by US players Reese Brantmeier and Elvina Kalieva, aged 16 and 17 respectively.
Now a full-time student at the LTA National Academy in Loughborough, Mimi regularly plays for Team GB and represents Wales at national and international level.
Mimi said: “Playing at Junior Wimbledon was such an incredible experience, and I’m so grateful to my family and friends and to all of my coaches for their ongoing support.
“I’ve gained so much from my time at the tournament and I’m looking forward to transferring everything I’ve learnt at Junior Wimbledon and applying it to my next international competitions.”
Chris Lewis, Head of Performance at Tennis Wales, said: “‘Mimi has shown such potential from a very young age, and it is great to see her already challenging some of the world’s top junior players at just 13 years of age. She has received excellent coaching at different stages of her development and is totally committed to her tennis journey.
“We’re all very proud of her here in Wales and are looking forward to seeing her go from strength to strength.”
For more information on performance coaching for tennis in Wales, visit our performance page here.
