Bristol's Katie Swann secures first British win at Wimbledon
27 year old halts British exodus at the All England Championships
Bristol's Katie Swan halted the British exodus at Wimbledon by claiming only the second grand slam singles victory of a career she feared might be slipping away.
At 12.29pm on day two of the Championships, the 27-year-old became the first home favourite to reach the second round with a 6-4 6-4 success over Romanian world number 173 Irina-Camelia Begu.
Her Court 16 win in an hour and 23 minutes came after 11 British players crashed out, and leading stars Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu withdrew through injury.
As well as providing some much-needed cheer for the home crowd in SW19, Swan’s triumph – sealed by capitalising on her fifth match point – represented a significant personal milestone.
She cried on the massage table when she learnt she had been awarded a wild card for her first Wimbledon appearance in three years, having feared recurrent back injuries might cut short her playing days.
Swan’s only previous grand-slam victory came against Begu at the same stage in 2018. The world number 196 collapsed to her knees after sealing victory and will face 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the second round.