British teenage tennis sensation Daniella Britton is just three wins away from making her Wimbledon main draw debut, as the young talent continues to take the youth circuit by storm
British teenager Daniella Britton stands just three victories away from securing a place in the main draw at Wimbledon after being handed a wildcard into qualifying. The 15-year-old from Bournemouth has earned the opportunity following wins in both the under-16s and under-18s national championships.
The youngster will now compete in a three-round knockout tournament at Roehampton to book her place. The rising star will take to the courts from Monday, June 22 to Thursday, June 25 – just one week before the prestigious championships at SW19.
Should she progress, she would be unseeded and could face some of the biggest names in women’s tennis on Centre Court, including Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.
READ MORE: Tennis star squares up to fan in angry exchange before umpire forced to step inREAD MORE: Tennis ace gets instant disqualification after hurling racket at opponent during celebration
Britton would become the second-youngest modern-day Wimbledon qualifier behind Coco Gauff in 2019. Gauff reached the fourth round on her Wimbledon debut that year, defeating Venus Williams in the opening round.
And Britton has spoken candidly to BBC News about what it means to be so close to qualifying for arguably the greatest tennis tournament on earth at such a tender age.
She said: “I just can’t believe it, I haven’t even played in a women’s pro event yet. I’m just going to bring what I can do onto the court and see how it goes.
“Especially for a British kid. You just want to aim for the stars and play those slams.”
The young player will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of one of her idols, seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, whom she has been lucky enough to watch in person.
She added: “Something about his presence on court, the way he just manages to deal with the pressures and expectations, it’s something really to admire.”
Britton grew up playing at West Hants tennis club, where head coach Richard Irwin described himself as “incredibly proud” of her accomplishment.
He said “she is the best” at her age level in the country right now, and he had “no doubt that she’s going to go out there and potentially surprise a few players”.
Britton will be amongst the many players outside the top 104 who will battle it out in the Wimbledon qualifiers.
This year’s main draw gets under way on Monday, June 29 and runs through to Sunday, July 12.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook page
