Record-breaking start to Wimbledon for British female tennis stars | Wimbledon 2024

Britain's tennis stars have made a record start at Wimbledon, with five players reaching the second round for the first time in 37 years.

British No. 1 Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart, 27, were triumphant in their first-round matches on Tuesday, joining former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 28-year-old wildcard Yuriko Lily Miyazaki and London-born Sonay Kartal, 22, who won on Monday.

The last time five women reached the second round of the championship was in 1987.

Three British men also won on Tuesday. Jack Draper, the British No. 1, defeated Sweden's Elias Ymer in five sets, Cameron Norrie defeated Argentina's Facundo Diaz Acosta in straight sets and Jacob Fearnley secured a win over Spain's Alejandro Moro Canas.

Boulter defeated Germany's Tatjana Maria 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 on Court 3 on Tuesday, under the watchful eye of her grandfather Brian and her mother Sue.

The 27-year-old from Leicester, who will face British number 2 Dart in the second round, said: Playing a Brit in the UK on grass is never an easy draw. I expect an absolute battle.

We've played it a few times before, so I'm going to look at that and think about what I'm going to do when I get into it, but honestly, it's about playing the tennis ball, not playing the person.

Boulter is the third generation in her family to embrace the sport, having followed in the footsteps of her mother and maternal grandmother, Jill Gartshore, both talented players.

In 2022, Boulter broke down in tears on court after securing a remarkable victory over a former world number 1, just two days after her grandmother passed away.

She dedicated her second round victory to the regional tennis champion, saying: [Jills] favorite tournament was Wimbledon. That's why it's a special tournament for me. She watched every match that was on TV.

She is always someone who is crazy about tennis from the first moment. She lives near the tennis club. That is the tennis club where I started playing tennis. Leicestershire is very close to my heart.

She is one of a group of new generation tennis stars from Britain who attribute their Wimbledon successes to their grandmothers.

Draper, the British world number one who defeated Sweden's Ymer on Centre Court on Tuesday, has said his grandmother, Brenda, was vital to his success. He said she introduced him to the sport and travelled around the country with his grandfather, Chris, to watch him on court.

Brenda, who was a tennis player herself and went on to coach some of the country's top players, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 12 years ago in her 60s. “It was devastating for me and my family to watch my grandmother's condition deteriorate,” the 22-year-old told the BBC in December.

Nana was one of my biggest supporters growing up and I have always had a close bond with her, but this is a disease that completely takes you away from the person you knew.

Draper said Brenda still sees him practice, but she doesn't know who I am. When my tennis matches are on TV, [my grandfather] I will tell Nana that it is me, but it doesn't register with her anymore, he said. I wish she could see and appreciate all my accomplishments so far, because I know she would be very proud of me.

On Tuesday afternoon, Paul Jubb came close to securing his first Wimbledon victory against Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who is 127 places above the Briton in the rankings, but he was ultimately defeated.

The 24-year-old wildcard was raised by his grandmother on a Hull council estate from the age of four, after both his parents died. His father, Sean, a former soldier, committed suicide in January 2000 when Jubb was just a year old, and his mother, Jacinta, died in hospital in 2008.

Jubb was introduced to racquet sports while playing swingball in his grandmother's garden. In an Instagram tribute to her in December, Jubb described her death as the worst/hardest year of his life.

It's been a tough year with the injuries and the loss of my grandmother, but I've always tried to stay positive and focus on the future, he told Beyond magazine last month.

My grandmother was my rock, fulfilling the role of both my mother and father, so her loss is huge, but she wanted me to keep going, do my best, and make her proud, and that is what I am determined to do.

Their compatriots Fran Jones, Billy Harris, Jan Choinski and Henry Searle were also defeated in their first round matches on Tuesday.