Katie Swan becomes the first British woman to come through qualifying at Wimbledon in 20 years as the 22-year-old sweeps past Australia’s Arina Rodionova in straight sets
- Katie Swan emulates Karen Cross, who reached Wimbledon’s main draw in 2001
- Andy Murray will face Nikoloz Basilashvili, while Dan Evans plays Feliciano Lopez
- Johanna Konta plays Katerina Siniakova as Simona Halep withdrew on Friday
- The 2019 women’s singles champion has joined Rafael Nadal on the sidelines
- Naomi Osaka, Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka are other big-name absentees
- World No 2 Osaka is taking a break from tennis following mental health struggles
Katie Swan became the first British woman to come through qualifying at Wimbledon for 20 years with victory over Australia’s Arina Rodionova.
The 22-year-old, ranked No 290 in the world, swept through the first set at Roehampton and held her nerve in a much tighter second to win 6-0, 6-4.
Swan, who has played in the main draw of Wimbledon three times as a wildcard and will soon find out who she faces in the first round, emulates Karen Cross, who qualified for the second time in 2001.
Katie Swan comfortably saw off Arina Rodionova to book her place in Wimbledon’s main draw
Karen Cross was the last British woman to successfully make it through qualifying in 2001
The draw, which took place earlier on Friday, has thrown up a number of exciting match-ups, with two-time champion Andy Murray facing former top-20 player Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Teenager Jack Draper is up against world No 1 Novak Djokovic, who is looking to win his 20th Grand Slam title and in the process equal the number of major singles titles won by a man, which is jointly held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who pulled out of the tournament last week.
Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka are the other big names missing from the men’s side of the draw with wrist and foot injuries respectively.
Federer faces Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, while British men’s No 1 and 22nd seed Dan Evans will face the experienced Feliciano Lopez.
On the women’s side, Britain’s main hope and 28th seed Johanna Konta has a tough opening assignment against Katerina Siniakova, who won the French Open women’s doubles title for the second time alongside fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova, who was triumphant in the women’s singles at Roland Garros.
Krejcikova will face 18-year-old Clara Tauson, while Serena Williams continues to search for an elusive 24th Grand Slam title to match Margaret Court’s record and starts off at SW19 this year against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, with 17-year-old Coco Gauff a possible fourth-round opponent.
There will be a new women’s singles winner this year after Simon Halep pulled out due to injury
Serena Williams and Andy Murray were among those who discovered who they will first face
The defending champion is absent though, with Simona Halep withdrawing from the competition minutes before the draw was made due to a calf injury that forced her to miss the French Open.
Also missing is Naomi Osaka, who is taking a break from the sport following mental health struggles.
The first round of Wimbledon begins on Monday, June 28, with comprehensive coverage across Sportsmail.