London, Great Britain, 8 July 2023 | Leigh Rogers

Taylah Preston has advanced to the second round in the Wimbledon girls’ singles competition for the second year in a row.

The 17-year-old from Perth made a promising start to her 2023 campaign, recording a 6-1 7-6(2) victory over American Theadora Rabman.

Preston, who broke into the world’s top 10 in the junior rankings last year, is contesting only her second junior tournament of the season.

After missing the Australian summer with a back injury, Preston has been focusing on competing on the professional tour.

She impressively claimed her first pro title at an ITF 25 tournament in Tunisia in May and has won 25 of her 34 matches at that level since April.

Preston, who has twice been named the Female Junior Athlete of the Year at the Australian Tennis Awards, returned to the junior tour last week at an ITF J300 tournament in Roehampton and won five matches to reach the quarterfinals as a qualifier.

Making her sixth career junior Grand Slam appearance, Preston is determined to better third-round runs she recorded at Roland Garros and the US Open last year.

Emerson Jones scored a first-round victory in her Wimbledon debut, overcoming British wildcard Given Roach 6-1 6-4.

The 15-year-old from the Gold Coast did not face a break point in the 74-minute encounter.

> READ: Emerson Jones – A rising star of Australian tennis

Aussies in action – Wimbledon

RESULTS
Girls’ singles, first round
[WC] Taylah Preston (AUS) d Theadora Rabman (USA) 6-1 7-6(2)
[13] Emerson Jones (AUS) d [WC] Given Roach (GBR) 6-1 6-4

COMING UP
Girls’ singles, first round
Lily Taylor (AUS) v [6] Kaitlin Quevedo (USA) 6-6 to finish
[Q] Roisin Gilheany (AUS) v [WC] Isabelle Lacy (GBR)

Girls’ singles, second round
[13] Emerson Jones (AUS) v TBC
[WC] Taylah Preston (AUS) v TBC

> VIEW: Wimbledon 2023 girls’ singles draw

Boys’ singles, first round
Hayden Jones (AUS) v [Q] Manas Dhamne (IND)
Charlie Camus (AUS) v [WC] Viktor Frydrych (GBR)
[Q] Pavle Marinkov (AUS) v Thijs Boogaard (NED)

> VIEW: Wimbledon 2023 boys’ singles draw

Girls’ doubles, first round
Roisin Gilheany (AUS)/Daniela Piani (GBR) v [1] Lucciana Perez Alarcon (PER)/Kaitlin Quevedo (USA)
Emerson Jones (AUS)/Ela Milic (SLO) v Hannah Klugman (GBR)/Isabelle Lacy (GBR)
Lily Taylor (AUS)/Zuzanna Pawlikowska (POL) v Darja Suvirdjonkova (SRB)/Vendula Valdmannova (CZE)

> VIEW: Wimbledon 2023 girls’ doubles draw

Boys’ doubles, first round
Charlie Camus (AUS)/Oliver Bonding (GBR) v [7] Darwin Blanch (USA)/Roy Horovitz (USA)
Hayden Jones (AUS)/Alexander Razeghi (USA) v Jakub Filip (CZE)/Gabriele Vulpitta (ITA)

> VIEW: Wimbledon 2023 boys’ doubles draw

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