5 must-know stories from Wimbledon 2024 qualifying round ft. Alycia Parks' 9-match win streak, Amanda Anisimova heartbreak
The 2024 Wimbledon Championships qualifying rounds concluded on June 27. After three rounds of qualifying matches, 32 players, 16 men and 16 women, have booked their berths in the main draw.
USA's Katie Volynets leads the women's qualifying draw and progresses to the main draw, while France's Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard couldn't make the cut. Overall, the qualification stages gave the tennis world many interesting plots and stories.
With that said, let's take a look at the top 5 storylines from the qualifying round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships:
#5 Only one English player makes it into Wimbledon Championships main draw from qualifying rounds
17 English players were given direct entry in the 2024 Wimbledon Championships main draw. Many more could have joined the contingent via the qualification route, with 14 local players in the qualifying draw. However, only one has managed to reach the main draw.
That honor went to Sonay Kartal, who persevered against her three tough opponents. The British wildcard began her campaign against No. 31 seed Suzan Lamens and bettered the Dutch 7-6 (6), 6-4. She then defeated Sijia Wei of China 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, and No. 5 seed Erika Andreeva 6-3, 6-2 to enter the Wimbledon main draw for a second consecutive year.
#4 In form David Goffin, James Duckworth ousted
David Goffin and James Duckworth were amongst the most in-form players in the qualifying draw at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. Goffin, who has reached the quarterfinals at SW19 twice in his career, won the Ilkley Challenger in the run-up to the grass slam. He was the ninth seed in the men's qualifying round and defeated Marc Polmans and Yasutaka Uchijima before losing to Mattia Bellucci in the final round.
Meanwhile, James Duckworth reached the quarterfinals at the Stuttgart Open and the second round at the Halle Open ahead of Wimbledon. The Australian was seeded No. 4 in London. He kicked off his qualifying campaign with a hard-fought win against Benjamin Hassan and ousted Nicholas Moreno De Alboran in straight sets. However, Duckworth lost to 21-year-old Estonian Mark Lajal in the third round, thus ending his stay in the tournament.
#3 Amanda Anisimova fails to make main draw at the last hurdle
American star Amanda Anisimova has been patchy since her comeback to tennis. She reached the fourth round at the Australian Open but has not produced any notable results since then. During the grass swing, she played just one tournament. Anisimova competed in the qualification stages at the 2024 Libema Open in the Netherlands, losing in the opening round.
The 22-year-old Anisimova was hoping to play at the Wimbledon Championships for the first time since her quarterfinal run in 2022. In order to realize her dream, Anisimova had to go through the qualifying route at SW19. She bettered Greek Valentini Grammatikopoulou and compatriot Hailey Baptiste. Unfortunately, her run ended in the third round at the hands of No. 25 Eva Lys.
#2 Veterans Lucas Pouille, Llyod Harris, Cristian Garin survive
While David Goffin failed to make it into the main draw, other experienced ATP Tour campaigners Lucas Pouille, Llyod Harris, and Cristian Garin survived the qualifying round. 30-year-old Pouille was impeccable, as he did not drop even a single set en route to wins against Jack Pinnington Jones, Jiri Vesely, and sixth seed Luca Van Asshe.
South African star Llyod Harris was in excellent form heading into Wimbledon qualifiers, winning the Lexus Surbiton Trophy, a Challenger tournament. He was the fifth seed in London and swept aside Andrea Vavassori, George Loffhagen, and Hugo Grenier to confirm his main draw spot.
Cristian Garin was unfortunate not to be offered a main draw wildcard at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. Nonetheless, the Chilean, whose lone Grand Slam quarterfinal came at SW19 in 2022, decided to go through the qualifying route and was successful. In the process, he defeated Enzo Couacaud, Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera and Timofey Skatov.
#1 Alycia Parks extends winning streak to 9, ends 15-year-old Hannah Klugman's dream
Alycia Parks had lost 17 matches on the trot from January to mid-June this year. The talented American was in search of urgent answers and found them at the Gaiba Challenger. She won the singles and doubles titles at the WTA 125 tournament in Italy and has continued her excellent form at the Wimbledon Championships.
Parks quickly saw off the challenges from Katarzyna Kawa, Tereza Martincova, and Hannah Klugman to reach the Wimbledon main draw for a second year in a row. Her last opponent in the qualifying stages, Hannah Klugman, was a standout player at this year's competition. The 15-year-old Brit was given a wildcard and recorded impressive wins against Petra Marcinko and No. 28 seed Linda Fruhvirtova before eventually losing to Parks.