After juggling exams and Wimbledon preparations, Britain鈥檚 teenage trio are ready to show the public what the next generation has to offer.
Sixteen-year-olds Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic and 17-year-old Mimi Xu will all make their senior Wimbledon debuts on Monday.
There is a great deal of excitement within British tennis about the youngsters, with Stojsavljevic winning the 2024 US Open junior title and Klugman reaching the French Open girls鈥 final this year, while Xu has already beaten two top-100 players on grass this summer.
Xu will immediately be thrust into the spotlight having drawn British number one Emma Raducanu in a clash that will be played in prime-time on Court One, while Klugman will face the player Raducanu beat in the US Open final in 2021, Leylah Fernandez, and Stojsavljevic takes on 31st seed Ashlyn Krueger.
They are sure to compare notes afterwards, with Xu saying: 鈥淲e鈥檝e grown up together. I鈥檝e known them all since we were seven, eight.
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e got a really good friendship, good environment around us, because we all train together now. So we can push each other every day. And seeing them do so well makes you want to do well as well.鈥
Like Raducanu at the same age, academic studies remain important to all of them, with Xu, who comes from Swansea, sitting three biology A level exams alongside her matches over the last few weeks.
She completed her maths A level last summer, two years early, and will take economics next summer.
Stojsavljevic, meanwhile, chose not to play French Open juniors while she took her GCSEs, with Klugman opting to defer her exams until the autumn.
鈥淚t was very difficult,鈥 said Londoner Stojsavljevic. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really think I slept for a month and a half, but I鈥檓 so glad it鈥檚 over and I can just focus on playing. Once I think I had an exam in the morning and played a match in the afternoon.鈥
The trio are enjoying rubbing shoulders with the big stars, although Stojsavljevic has so far been too shy to speak to her big idol Novak Djokovic.
鈥淗e鈥檚 just got too much aura,鈥 she said with a smile.
Klugman arrives in the senior game with the most hype having stood out from a very young age, winning the prestigious under-18 Orange Bowl championships in Florida aged only 14.
She grew up in Wimbledon and lives only a five-minute walk from the All England Club.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a dream for me,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 live down the road so it鈥檚 something I鈥檝e wanted to do my whole life. But I don鈥檛 think anything changes after this experience, it鈥檚 just a little stepping stone.鈥
Klugman will still play in the junior event and one of her best friends from Wimbledon High School is a ball girl this year.
鈥淚 said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want you on my court鈥, she鈥檇 put me off for sure,鈥 said the teenager, who is the third youngest British player to appear in the women鈥檚 singles in the open era after Laura Robson and Annabel Croft.
LTA national women鈥檚 coach Katie O鈥橞rien has watched the three players come through the ranks and, asked what qualities they share, she said: 鈥淯nbelievable work ethic, and I think they鈥檙e happy to be a bit different.
鈥淚 think you need a lot of resilience. Tennis is such a tough sport, there鈥檚 so many knockbacks. You鈥檝e got to be incredibly determined and open to learning.鈥
There will be no expectations this year beyond giving it their best shot, but O鈥橞rien believes all three are capable of winning matches at this level.
鈥淔or sure it will be the biggest stage they鈥檝e performed on but, even though they鈥檙e young, I think they鈥檝e already performed under pressure, they鈥檝e already been in the spotlight,鈥 said the former British number one.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they鈥檙e going to be intimidated.鈥