Wimbledon 2023: Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy finish runners-up in the Girls’ doubles final
• 3 MINUTE READ
Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy have finished runners-up in the Junior Wimbledon Girls’ doubles after losing out to Alena Kovackova and Laura Samsonova, 6-4, 7-5.
Klugman – just 14-years-old – and 17-year-old Lacy hadn’t played much doubles together prior to this year’s Championships and exceeded all expectations including their own when they reached the final two of this year’s Girls doubles draw.
The British duo made history this week by becoming the first Britons to feature in Girls’ doubles final since Lizzie Jelfs took the crown alongside South African partner Nannie de Villiers in 1994, and despite missing out on the trophy, leave this year's tournament with plenty to be proud of.
Speaking in their on-court interview, Klugman said, “It’s incredible, having my family and friends around to enjoy these moments which come and go.
“It’s been incredible this week, I’ve loved the energy and the crowd and getting to play on Court 3. We’ve absolutely loved it.”
With each partnership showing early signs of nerves by losing service games at the start of the match, the rest of the opening set was an even tie. The British duo withstood three break points to hold serve and make it 4-3 before the Czech duo capitalised on a further two break point opportunities to eventually seal the set.
After falling a double break down, the second set looked out of reach for Klugman and Lacy; but in looking to enjoy every last second of their Wimbledon experience, the British duo fought their way back into the contest by levelling the scoreboard to 5-5. However, one last blow from Kovavkova and Samsonova saw them clinch the decisive break that would lead them to the Girls’ doubles crown in SW19.
“We kind of said at 5-1 down, ‘let’s just enjoy the second set’” Lacy said when asked how they managed to turn the second set around. “We got the energy going and then the crowd got going, so we did really well to get back to 5-5. It was a tough game then, but we loved it.”
Lacy finishes her grass court season having secured a career-first top 100 win against Madison Brengle at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy where she reached the quarter-finals, while Klugman continued to showcase her talents with a third round appearance in the Junior Girl's singles draw.
