Three British players win but 13 out in first roundFigure caption, Swan becomes first Briton to reach second round at WimbledonByEmily Salley, BBC Sport journalist at Wimbledon and Harry Poole, BBC Sport journalist at WimbledonPublished30 June 2026, 13:25 BSTUpdated 28 minutes agoKatie Swan, Jacob Fearnley and Arthur Fery ensured there will be British representation in the Wimbledon singles second round – but another three home players fell to first-round defeats.Ten Britons lost on the opening day of their home Grand Slam – the most at SW19 since daily records began in 2000.
Further defeats for Katie Boulter, Jack Pinnington Jones and debutant Harry Wendelken on Tuesday took the total number of first-round losses for home players to 13, equalling last year’s total.
But Swan, who considered retiring from tennis in 2024 because of a persistent back injury, avoided the same fate in her first Grand Slam appearance for three years as she became the first British player to progress this year with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.
The 27-year-old threw herself to the ground as she celebrated the win – her first in the main draw of a major since she beat the same opponent at Wimbledon in 2018.
Fery battled back from a set down to secure an impressive victory over Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, losing just five of the final 23 games in completing a 3-6 6-2 6-2 6-1 win.
Fearnley appeared set to become the just in British player to exit when he trailed American Alex Michelsen by two sets, but the world number 159 produced a superb comeback to prevail 3-6 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-2 after three and a half hours.
