Mingge Olivia "Mimi" Xu (born 2 October 2007) is a British tennis player.[2][3]

Mingge Xu
Full nameMingge Olivia Xu
Country (sports) United Kingdom
Born (2007-10-02) 2 October 2007 (age 17)[1]
Prize money$70,349
Singles
Career record29–23
Career titles1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 442 (21 October 2024)
Current rankingNo. 506 (11 November 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open JuniorQF (2024)
French Open Junior2R (2024)
Wimbledon Junior3R (2023)
US Open JuniorSF (2024)
Doubles
Career record23–9
Career titles4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 293 (4 November 2024)
Current rankingNo. 298 (11 November 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open JuniorSF (2024)
French Open JuniorQF (2023)
Wimbledon JuniorF (2024)
US Open JuniorQF (2023, 2024)
Last updated on: 11 November 2024.

Early life

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From Swansea, South Wales,[4][5] Xu started playing tennis at the Swansea Tennis and Squash Club, before moving to the National Tennis Academy in Loughborough.[6] She then moved to the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton where she started to be coached by Mathew James.[7]

Career

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At the 2021 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' singles, Xu lost in three sets in the first round to fourth seed Polina Kudermetova.

In June 2022, Xu won the Junior Girls title at the LTA Junior National Championships, beating Talia Neilson-Gatenby 6-4, 7-5 in the final at the National Tennis Centre.[8] Aged 14, she had also won the under-16 British title earlier that same month.[9] Winning the British junior title granted her a wildcard into qualifying for the main draw of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and at 14, she would have been the youngest qualifier in the Open era. However, she was defeated by 800+ places higher ranked Hanna Chang of the USA in the first round.[10] In the Wimbledon Championships junior girls' singles competition, she reached the last-16 in both 2022 and 2023. She also made the doubles quarterfinals at the French Open and US Open in 2023.[7]

She reached the quarterfinals of the girls' singles at the 2024 Australian Open,[11] and made the semifinals of the girls' doubles alongside Hannah Klugman.[12]

In April 2024, Xu and Mika Stojsavljevic paired up to win 6-2, 1-6, 12-10 over Flora Johnson & Allegra Korpanec Davies in the girls' doubles at the U18 Junior Nationals Championship. On the same day, Xu defeated Stojsavljevic to reach the final of the girls' singles. In the singles final, she defeated Hannah Klugman 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 to win the U18 national title.[13] In June 2024, she was awarded a wildcard into qualifying for the singles of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.[14] As a result, she broke into the top 10 of the junior rankings for the first time.[15]

Playing alongside Stojsavljevic, she reached the final of the girls' doubles at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, after a win over top seeds and defending champions, Alena Kovačková and Laura Samson, in the quarterfinals and a straight-sets win over Julia Stusek and Julie Pastioka in the semifinals.[16][17] In the final, they lost on a championship tiebreak to Tyra Caterina Grant and Iva Jovic of the United States.[18] She reached the semifinals of the girls' singles at the 2024 US Open.[19]

Partnering with Amelia Rajecki, Xu won the doubles title at the ITF W100 Shrewsbury in October 2024, defeating fellow Britons Hannah Klugman and Ranah Stoiber in the final.[20]

ITF Circuit finals

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Singles: 1 (title)

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Legend
W35 tournaments (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Aug 2024 ITF Aldershot, United Kingdom W35 Hard   Haley Giavara 6–4, 6–1

Doubles: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

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Legend
W100 tournaments
W50 tournaments
W35 tournaments
W15 tournaments
Finals by surface
Hard (4–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Mar 2024 ITF Monastir, Tunisia W15 Hard   Radka Zelníčková   Elena Milovanović
  Tamira Paszek
2–6, 6–2, [10–6]
Loss 1–1 Jul 2024 ITF Nottingham, United Kingdom W50 Hard   Katie Swan   Naiktha Bains
  Amelia Rajecki
6–1, 4–6, [8–10]
Win 2–1 Aug 2024 ITF Aldershot, United Kingdom W35 Hard   Naiktha Bains   Punnin Kovapitukted
  Akiko Omae
6–4, 6–3
Win 3–1 Oct 2024 ITF Reims, France W35 Hard (i)   Sarah Beth Grey   Ekaterina Ovcharenko
  Emily Webley-Smith
6–3, 6–1
Win 4–1 Oct 2024 GB Pro-Series Shrewsbury, United Kingdom W100 Hard (i)   Amelia Rajecki   Hannah Klugman
  Ranah Akua Stoiber
6–4, 6–1

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals

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Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 2024 Wimbledon Grass   Mika Stojsavljevic   Tyra Caterina Grant
  Iva Jovic
5–7, 6–4, [8–10]

References

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  1. ^ "Mingge Xu Player Profile". US Open Tennis. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Mingge Xu". ITF Tennis. Archived from the original on 2024-07-21. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  3. ^ "Mingge Xu". Wimbledon.com. Archived from the original on 2024-07-21. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  4. ^ "WELSH TEEN MIMI XU BEGINS ATTEMPT TO BECOME YOUNGEST FEMALE TO PLAY AT WIMBLEDON IN OPEN ERA". Eurosport.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2024-07-21. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  5. ^ "Welsh tennis ace shines as wildcard entry at Wimbledon". South Wales Guardian. 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Wimbledon: Mimi Xu, 14, could become youngest female to qualify for senior draw". BBC Sport. 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  7. ^ a b Coleman-Phillips, Ceri (15 January 2024). "The Welsh tennis stars aiming to be the next Murray and Raducanu". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Mingge Xu and Luca Pow win LTA 18U Junior National Championships". lta.org.uk. 4 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Teenager Mimi Xu looks to a bright future after Wimbledon qualifying debut". Tennis365. 21 June 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Mimi Xu Impresses Despite Wimbledon Defeat". lta.org. 22 June 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Bulgaria's Iva Ivanova Was Eliminated A Step Before The Girls' Tennis Final In Melbourne". novinite.com. 26 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Australian Open: Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid win fifth straight wheelchair doubles title". Sky Sports. 26 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Mimi Xu & Oliver Bonding take home titles at the 18U Lexus Junior National Championships". LTA. 12 April 2024. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Initial Wild Card Announcement" (PDF). Wimbledon.com. 19 June 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Rising star Xu 'humbled' to reach junior top 10". BBC Sport. 13 July 2024. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Xu and Stojsavljevic reach Wimbledon doubles final". BBC Sport. 13 July 2024. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  17. ^ Jennings, Will (12 July 2024). "The four Brits who can still win Wimbledon". inews. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Xu and Stojsavljevic lose Wimbledon girls' final". BBC Sport. 13 July 2024. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  19. ^ "British teen Stojsavljevic reaches US Open junior final". BBC Sport. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Kartal claims crown after Watson retires due to injury". Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
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