At the final day of qualifying at Wimbledon, two West Australians – Maddison Inglis and Astra Sharma – have secured prized main draw spots.
They join Jaimee Fourlis, Zoe Hives, Ajla Tomljanovic and wildcard Daria Saville in this year’s ladies’ singles field, taking the total number of Australian representatives in the main draw to six.
World No.129 Inglis needed two hours and 43 minutes to overcome Serbia’s Natalija Stevanovic, eventually prevailing 7-6(2) 2-6 6-2 to earn a Wimbledon main draw debut. This also marks the first time the 24-year-old from Perth has earned a Grand Slam place through qualifying.
Sharma survived a spirited challenge from 16-year-old Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, scoring a 3-6 6-2 6-3 win against the Andorran talent. It is the third time that Sharma, a 26-year-old from Perth ranked No.136, has qualified at a major tournament and ensures she’ll make a 14th consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearance.
The last time four Australian women qualified at Wimbledon was in 1980.
RESULTS
Ladies’ qualifying singles, final round
[5] Maddison Inglis (AUS) d Natalija Stevanovic (SRB) 7-6(2) 2-6 6-2
[10] Astra Sharma (AUS) d [31] Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (AND) 3-6 6-2 6-3
Read all about Maddison’s journey in The West Australian HERE.
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