Emma Raducanu was at the height of her fame when she shared a court with Welsh teenager Mimi Xu for the first time.
It was the summer of 2022 and a few months after Raducanu’s incredible US Open win, she was looking for a practice partner as she prepared for only her second appearance at Wimbledon.
Raducanu was only 19 herself at the time and her success in New York was a source of huge inspiration to the young British girls emerging through the ranks and hoping to follow in her footsteps.
So when she offered 14-year-old Xu a chance to hit with her on on the grass courts at the NTC, it was a moment to savour for the rising star.
“Emma wanted to play last minute at the NTC on the grass and she bumped into Mimi actually offered to play with her for 45 minutes – that’s something that Mimi is never going to forget,” recalls former British No 1 Katie O’Brien, who is now LTA women’s national coach.
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Three years on and 17-year-old Xu is starting to make her way into the senior ranks, with the wold card she was awarded by the All England Club for the main draw at Wimbledon now serving up a mouth-watering first round clash against Raducanu that may well be on Centre Court.
This is a stunning rise for a young player who has been talked about as a star in the making for some time and she has backed up that status in recent weeks with some fine wins on grass courts.
Her impressive win against world No 52 Alycia Parks in the Birmingham Open this month was the highlight of her career so far and she backed that up with a win against world No 124 Katarzyna Kawa in Birmingham, before recording another fine victory against world No 97 Katie Volynets at this week’s Eastbourne Open.
A powerful player who excelled in the Junior ranks, Xu reached top ten of the ITF rankings which provides an insight into the rising stars of the game.
A multiple winner of LTA Junior Nationals titles, Xu took another stride forward in her career as she lifted the title at W35 Aldershot last year and now she relishes the challenges put in front of her.
“At the moment, my focus is on developing my game rather than results as that is the best area to focus on at this stage,” she told the ITF last year.
“Of course, we all want to win, but there is a great spirit among the British girls at the moment and we are all driving ourselves forward to the next level.”
Xu has been busy off the court too, recently completing her maths A-Level two years early and the teenager has no plans to stop there as she hopes to maintain her love of studying alongside tennis.
“In my free time I just like to study. I don’t know what else to do in my free time,” she adds. “It’s something different to tennis so it keeps my mind working.
“My tutor has been amazing. Whenever I have time I will have a lesson with her and it makes it a lot easier when I am away.”
Her studies are behind her for now as tennis is the focus and while there is always a drive to ensure junior players do not get the ‘Raducanu treatment’ in the hype stakes, Xu will now face a few days in the spotlight that will be an eye-opener for what is to come in her career.
Initially shy when facing the media, Xu has matured into an impressive speaker when presented with a journalist of thrust before a camera and she will have plenty of exposure to that over the next few days.
The presence of British teenagers Xu, Junior French Open finalist Hannah Klugman (drawn against Canadian 29th seed Leylah Fernandez) and reigning Junior Open champion Mika Stojsavljevic (drawn against American 31st seed Ashlyn Krueger) highlights the progress of the LTA’s junior pathway in Britain, with O’Brien excited by what is to come over the next few years.
“Success breeds success in the same professional habits that we see the pros have and the youngsters can see that,” said the coach who oversaw the development of Xu, Klugman and Stojsavljevic.
“I think our senior British pros realise just how influential they are, how much they can inspire the next generation. For our young players to spend time with them at the NTC and maybe even practice with them is an invaluable experience.
“We’ve got a crop of young talent coming through, it’s not just one and the spotlight isn’t just on that one person.
“We have really good depth of talent amongst our junior girls. Our girls all get along so well and it feels like they are driving each other on, while also inspiring the generation just behind them.
“It helps that they are developing as a pack. There is not a single stand-out player as they are all very good, so they will drive each other on and progress together.
“These players are still very much at a developmental stage, but they are progressing quickly as they have played in some high profile and also have Junior Grand Slam experience.”
They have played in the Junior Grand Slams and now the biggest stage of them all awaits Xu, Klugman and Stojsavljevic.
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