Wimbledon: 18-Year-Old Italian Tyra Grant Stuns in Her Debut. Jasmine Paolini Stages a Comeback Victory

Tyra Grant and Jasmine Paolini win in their Wimbledon debuts: the rising Italian star, making her all-time debut at a Grand Slam, sensationally defeated home-court player Katie Boulter. The victory was harder-fought for Italy’s No. 1, who is still not 100% physically; after suffering a crushing 0-6 loss in the first set, she rallied to defeat American Robin Montgomery.

A great performance by the very young Italian player Tyra Grant, making her all-time debut in the main draw at Wimbledon. The player, born in Rome and raised in Vigevano—who turned 18 last March—won her first match on the London grass by defeating a formidable opponent who was also playing on home turf: Britain’s Katie Boulter.

Tyra, ranked No. 172 in the WTA rankings, won in two sets, 6-4, 6-2, in just over an hour, leaving the world No. 60 with no chance. The Italian sent a clear message right away by breaking serve early in the match, then held her serve to take the first set. In the second set, she even secured a double break. Grant finished with just 14 unforced errors; in the second round, she will face the winner of the match between the Czech Bouzkova and the Australian Gibson.

It was a truly hard-fought match for Jasmine Paolini, who defeated American Robin Montgomery in three sets with scores of 0-6, 6-4, 7-5. After a dramatic first set, the Tuscan player regained her composure and won the second set 6-4 and then the third 7-5, advancing to the second round, where she will face the winner of the match between Shymanovich and Golubic.