British tennis is thriving at the moment, and will have 23 different players across the men’s and women’s singles at Wimbledon this year.
And whilst there is little expectation for them all to perform, there’s a quiet hope amongst the home crowd that at least one of these lesser-known talents can make a name for themselves with a fairy-tale run.
Lois Boisson managed to do so in Paris, so there’s no reason why Britain’s strong teenage contingent at the All-England Club can’t follow in her footsteps.
With that in mind, Anne Keothavong has sought to focus on the women who have already begun breaking into the limelight.
Anne Keothavong praises Britain’s rich teenage talent
First focusing on Emma Raducanu’s first-round opponent, Mimi Xu, she spoke live on the BBC: ‘‘Mimi Xu is a talented 17-year-old, one of our junior players and look, they got to know each other more last year. I brought Mimi along to be part of the Billie Jean King Cup team when we were in the finals in Malaga in November last year and there she was able to get to know the senior players better and spent a lot of time with the likes of Emma [Raducanu] and Katie [Boulter] and learnt from them.
‘She’s a dangerous tennis player. She’s got a big game, but she’s still very raw, still learning. Making her main draw debut, which, you know, is exciting, but yeah, it’s nerve-racking.’
Then asked to speak about a couple of 16-year-olds, Keothavong began by claiming: ‘So recently, Hannah Klugman, finalists at the French Open Juniors. I feel like we’ve been talking about her for years. She’s such a talented young player, with a great, all-court game, again, making her debut, later today.
‘I see Hannah as someone who really enjoys playing on the big show course. I just thought it’d be a good test for her.
‘And then we’ve got Mika [Stojsavljevic], who won the US Open junior last year, who’s just been doing her GCSEs over the last few weeks.
‘I mean, these young girls, they’re just the way they’re able to organise their exams, their tennis, their training sessions, it’s remarkable from, you know, the young teenagers, and what a great example they set.
‘But Mika is someone with a huge serve, world-class backhand and a dangerous game.’
Who is British youngster Hannah Klugman?
Having spoken about who Mika Stojsavljevic is, it’s also worth touching on Hannah Klugman, who too boasts plenty of pedigree for someone so young.
Also just 16 years old, this teenage talent has been surrounded by tennis her entire life; she grew up just outside of the Wimbledon village. The sport has literally enveloped her since birth.
Previously adept in hockey, netball, swimming and running, during the COVID lockdown Klugman chose to focus all her efforts on tennis, and has reaped the rewards ever since.
In doubles, she made the final of the Wimbledon Junior tournament in 2023, the semi-finals of the US Open Junior event in 2024, and the final of the Australian Open’s junior competition earlier this year.
In Paris, she was also a finalist in the singles event of that Grand Slam too.
This year marks the first main-draw appearance for Klugman of her career, of what is sure to be many.
