London, Great Britain, 27 June 2023 | Vivienne Christie

Another career first is within tantalising reach for Olivia Gadecki, who claimed an emphatic win in the opening round of the Wimbledon 2023 ladies’ singles qualifying competition.

Gadecki, who is aiming to contest the main draw at The Championships for the first time, was one of four Australian women to advance at Roehampton.

Jaimee Fourlis, Priscilla Hon and Storm Hunter also recorded first-round wins, moving one step closer to a coveted main-draw entry at the grass-court Grand Slam.

Showcasing fearless aggression, the 21-year-old Gadecki was particularly impressive in her 6-3 6-4 elimination of American teenager Katrina Scott.

Gadecki struck 24 winners – compared to five from her opponent  – as she completed her eye-catching victory in just over an hour.

Jamiee Fourlis drew on all her fighting spirit to outlast former world No.35 Polona Hercog 6-3 4-6 6-3 in a contrasting two-hour, eight-minute battle.

The Melbourne-born Fourlis, who qualified for The Championships in 2022, struck 30 winners against the experienced Slovene.

Hon continued her perfect record in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying, advancing with a business-like 6-2 6-3 win over Frenchwoman Amandine Hesse.

Hunter built on her satisfying season with a 7-5 6-4 win over British wildcard Mingge Xu.

So far this year, the 28-year-old Hunter has won 18 of her 25 singles matches.

It was a tougher day for fellow Australian women Arina Rodionova and Kimberly Birrell, who each suffered straight-sets losses.

Aussies in action – Wimbledon

RESULTS
Ladies’ qualifying singles, first round
[27] Olivia Gadecki (AUS) d Katrina Scott (USA) 6-3 6-4
Storm Hunter (AUS) d [WC] Mingge Xu (GBR) 7-5 6-4
Jaimee Fourlis (AUS) d Polona Hercog (SLO) 6-3 4-6 6-3
Priscilla Hon (AUS) d Amandine Hesse (FRA) 6-2 6-3
Dayana Yastremska (UKR) d [15] Kimberly Birrell (AUS) 6-4 6-3
Laura Siegemund (GER) d Arina Rodionova (AUS) 6-2 6-1

COMING UP
Ladies’ qualifying singles, second round
[27] Olivia Gadecki (AUS) v Ann Li (USA)
Storm Hunter (AUS) v [1] Elina Avanesyan
Priscilla Hon (AUS) v [18] Lucrezia Stefanini (ITA)
Jaimee Fourlis (AUS) v [21] Viktoria Hruncakova (SVK)

> VIEW: Wimbledon 2023 ladies’ qualifying singles draw

Gentlemen’s qualifying singles, second round
[7] James Duckworth (AUS) v Harold Mayot (FRA)
[9] Rinky Hijikata (AUS) v Tomas Barrios Vera (CHI)
Marc Polmans (AUS) v Zachary Svajda (USA)

> VIEW: Wimbledon 2023 gentlemen’s qualifying singles draw

Book online, play today: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!